The Kharlan Wars
by ShroudofDarkness
Summary: Story of Kratos. A tale of how he came to meet Mithos, Martel, and Yuan. A tale of the Ancient Kharlan War. A tale of how the angels of Cruxis came into being.
1. Chapter 1: Flameberg Lost

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters contained therein.

* * *

"Commander Aurion, they're coming" 

"Good. Now we can test these new crystalline battle enhancers."

Silence invaded Gaoracchia Forest as a battalion of soldiers, all covered in gleaming black mail, stood hiding behind trees. Sharp, white blades were held ready as a soft thumping noise was heard, steadily growing louder. With a crash, an army of white clad men came marching through a small clearing, armed but unready.

They were heading through the bright, lush forest towards Iselia, the magitechnology development center of the Sylvarant Kingdom. Their target was to stop the invention of a new weapon, the exsphere. The crystalline enhancer was a small orb that would attach to the body and develop using the energy of its wielder. It could amplify the strength and speed of a person more than ten times over. Other effects, however, were yet to be noticed.

"NOW! STRIKE!"

A sudden rush of action overtook the serene forest. A horde of men, faces covered in black helms, ambushed the white-robed mages. At the head of the assault was Cruxis Aurion, commander of the Sylvarant army. Upon his head lay a black, hardened dragon's skull. His eyes shone through the open holes in the skull, daring anyone to battle him. Red hair, long and streaming, fell through the slight gap between helmet and armor. Below it shone a new suit of obsidian armor, framed in a night-blue cape. The symbol of Sylvarant, a V-shaped shield split down the middle by a sword, was engraved upon the armor and sewn into the back of the cape. In his hand was the treasured weapon of his kingdom, the sword forged of living flame, Flameberg. Its golden hilt glittered in the light of the rising sun, showing its splendor. A blade of fire extended forth, its pure elemental energy emitting a heat so warm that no lesser man would have been able to wield the devastating sword of destruction.

The Tetheallan mages took up their positions, gathering their staves and spell books together. Many were forced to suddenly warp away for their lives. A few sent feeble spells flying into their opponents' ranks, but they achieved little effect. The Sylvarant army held the advantage of surprise and they were utilizing it well. Finally, the white-clad mages broke apart and began building a barrier, holding out their assaulters. The ranks in the back began to unleash mid level spells, striking mainly with "flame lance", "ice tornado", and "thunder blade". The swordsmen broke off, distracted by the sudden barrage of magic and obstructed by the barrier.

A single warrior, holding a blazing, red blade, rushed forth, striking and splitting open the glowing, green barrier. With a single swipe, his magical blade left six of the mages burnt. Although the Tetheallan aonis infusion gave humans the ability to use magic, it didn't provide much resistance to it. As more joined in striking through the opening, the mages began to fall back.

However, just when victory for Sylvarant seemed inevitable, a sudden blast of thunder struck down. The "indignation" tore through the armor of the swordsmen, searing their flesh. Cruxis Aurion bore through the assault, leaping forward as soon as it faded away, resuming his constant onslaught in the hope of giving his men time to recover. The tides of battle seemed even when the commander of Sylvarant suddenly jerked back, falling forward. He held himself at his knees, flaming blade digging into the earth as he leaned upon it.

Something was wrong. A streak of pain shot through Cruxis' body. A jolt jerked him. The exsphere was reacting to something. It seemed to be draining more of his energy than it should. The warrior grabbed at the crystal stuck upon his neck, yanking at it, but something held him back. He had a very bad premonition about this. However, as the mages of Tethealla advanced upon him, he knew he had no choice. He couldn't fight with this side effect of the new weapon, and if his band failed, then Iselia would be destroyed. His family, his wife and his son, Kratos, would both die.

Drawing upon some inner energy, Cruxis pulled hard, removing his exsphere. The result was not what he had expected. Along with the crystal's energy, something of his had been torn away. He felt his consciousness leave him as he saw his foes back away in fear. He had a dim awareness of having become enormous. The last thing he held in his mind was that no matter what happened, he couldn't let these beings get to his family.

* * *

That night, a large, green mutated entity lay upon the grass of Gaoracchia Forest. Blood slowly seeped out of his long green arms. His distorted body groaned in pain as its spirit left it.

Reinforcements had arrived, and even in his frenzied state, Cruxis had not been able to fend off three simultaneous "indignations". In the dead of darkness, a beacon was lit. The magitechnology center of Iselia was burning. Sylvarant lost much of its research on exspheres, these newly developed amplifiers of a person's ability. However, it learned a piece of knowledge that Tethealla had only recently found out: A mount that could prevent the leaching of a person's soul would have to be made.

* * *

A lone group of refugees fled away from the burning city. Kratos' mom, Maria Aurion, led them across Tethealla territory, heading towards the far-away city of Triet, another of Sylvarant's major centers.

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Well, that's my first ever fanfic. I hope you like it. If you read it, be sure to review. The first chapters a little short, but the next few should be more than twice as long. And please, no flames. 


	2. Chapter 2: Iselian Massacre

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters contained therein.

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Kratos walked beside his mother, holding onto her hand. The 6-year-old boy was confused. Where was he being taken in the middle of the night? Why wasn't his father here? He turned around, just in time to see his hometown go up in flames. The young boy suddenly stopped, standing still as the entire group of refugees passed him, parting around him. His mother tugged once at his hand, then stopped alongside him when he refused to budge. 

Confusion roared through Kratos' mind. Why? How? What? He didn't understand his situation. All he knew was that he would never be going back to his home. Somewhere in his mind, he also realized that his father wouldn't ever meet him again. Silently, the young boy turned aside and continued walking. Silent tears fell down his face.

* * *

A lone guard stood still. He looked around him suspiciously. He knew he had heard a noise. Waiting a while longer, he decided that it must have been some animal in the bushes and left. 

Silence. Good. A young boy silently slid out of the bush he had hidden in and quickly ran up the dirt road. A Tetheallan patrol was coming, and Kratos had to warn the Iselians. Once he was out of the guard's hearing range, he left the path, crashing noisily through the bushes as he hurried to get to the trail on the other side. The moment he broke through the undergrowth, seven swords found themselves at his throat.

"It's me, Kratos Aurion!"

The swords were lowered as the guards of the Iselian refugees registered what their eyes saw and what their ears heard. "What is your report? You seemed to be in quite a hurry."

"The Tetheallans somehow know we're around here. I heard two of their patrol guards talking. Apparently we've entered the range of the nexus around Meltokio and they detected the magic we used when setting up a fire last night. Theirs also a squad of them heading out to Ozette Research Center, and it'll be heading straight through this clearing. We have to move out!"

Just as Kratos finished his debreifing, another scout burst out of the woods, also in a great rush. "There's a bunch of Tetheallan research people headed right this way! We have to leave!"

Within seconds, the entire encampment was readied. Kratos took his place, scouting off towards the right. He stayed away from the group, just close enough to catch glimpses of his people through the gaps in the trees. Silently, the entire company moved out of the clearing and into the forest.

They continued in a southeastern direction, heading for the Fooji Mountains, a range that divided the border between Tethealla and Sylvarant. If they hurried straight across the plains, called Valhala, they could reach there in a matter of months; however, that would lead them not only by a lot of Tetheallan guards, but also through the capital city of Meltokio itself. Thus, the leaders of the Iselian refugees, a council of twelve that included Kratos' mother, had opted for going through the Midgard Forest north of the city towards the mountain range to the west. They would pass through the Darkness Temple, the only open path in the mountains, where experiments with mana were being conducted, but because it was in an isolated and unpopulated area, they hoped to pass unnoticed.

Kratos attempted to keep his senses alert, but he kept falling into his thoughts. It had been two years since he had left his burning home. Two years that had hardened him. He had spent the entirety of those two years practicing the sword arts. Anyone in the traveling group who knew even the smallest of techniques was hounded by him until he had been taught. Alone, he would stand under the shade of trees, or upon the crest of a mountain, or even hidden within the tall grass of the wild northern plains, training. He perfected his stance, his grip, his swing, his recovery. He strengthened his body, improving not only his might, but only his speed, stamina, and perception. After such a strenuous effort, he had become an accomplished swordsman at the age of eight. No one in this small band could even hope to compete with him now. Yet, he continued training.

A sharp snap jerked Kratos back to the present. Now was not the time to be dazing off. He'd had time to spend with his thoughts on the two year journey south from Iselia, and he'd have time as they headed farther south. Silent as a falling leaf, Kratos leapt off to his right, swiftly scaling a tall tree. His dark purple suit helped him fade in with the shadows.

Staring downwards, the scout caught sight of something that caused him great worry. A group of Tetheallans were heading on a course that would soon meet up with the refugees. As stealthily as he could, Kratos fled back, brown hair streaming behind him.

"Stop! A small patrol is going to be passing on a path ahead. We need to hide here and let them go before we cross."

Immediately, the leaders halted all movements. For extra caution, everyone either scaled a tree or dove into a bush. People held their breath. Kratos could feel the humidity rising in the air. As the sun rose higher into the sky, the warmth was causing the dew to evaporate, adding to the already unbearable tropical weather.

Slight footsteps were heard passing far away. The young boy silently crept out of the thorn bush he had hidden behind, careful not to end up as a porcupine. He drifted towards the path, shadowing trees along the way as often as possible. Once close enough to hear and be heard, he slowed down. Spying on the patrol, he matched his steps with theirs, causing his footfalls to be muffled with theirs.

"Seems like only no one made it out of the battle alive."

"I still can't see why Sylvarant would fight so hard over Hima; it's just a small mountain outpost."

"The city overlooks the Giant Tree. It has a pretty strategic positioning around the Holy Kharlan area."

"Well, we've searched this area for hours. I really don't think we'll be finding anyone."

Kratos let them pass on, deciding to fall back and tell his group that they could continue on their way. It looked like the two kingdoms had brought the war to the holy land itself. He didn't think he was very proud of his father fighting for Sylvarant anymore. Worse yet, his father probably knew all about the war, being nicknamed "Odin" and "Weilder of Flameberg" while he was still alive. Why did his father fight for a country that wanted nothing more than power enough to destroy its competitor?

* * *

A full year had passed. Kratos, now nine years of age, stood alone on the top of a mountain peak in the bleak Dark Range. Just a few days ago he had been accepted as a leader among the refugees. They were currently camping down in a valley that a river flowed through, waiting for the Darkness Temple to empty out between the shift changes of scientists. They were going to receive a window of three days one week from now to pass through the large structure. It would be more than enough time, but only if they could keep from getting lost in the labyrinthine building. 

Well, he wouldn't worry about that until the time came. For now, he had to train. Closing his eyes, Kratos swung his sword out from its night-black sheath in a slow arc in front of him. The gleaming silver blade began to sparkle as the sun finally crested the far horizon, sending soft tendrils of light at the mountain peaks. With gradually increasing speed, Kratos spun and dashed, swirling his sword in complex combinations, slowing down and then speeding up, but never stopping. He jumped forward, slicing down through the air. Without pausing, the young boy dashed forward, swiping his sword across the snow, bare inches above it. With a burst of energy, he leapt into the icy air, pulling the Silver Blade straight up. At the apex of his jump, he spun his weapon around in a semicircle, following up by flinging his sword out. The strength of his throw resulted in great speed, and the sword was imbedded in the snow before his hand had even fully come down. The force of the blow sent up swirls of white flakes spiraling through the wind.

Yanking hard, the warrior dislodged his sword from the ground. The technique itself was perfect, its strength and speed was unfathomable, however, there was a fatal flaw. Kratos knew that if he were to miss, he would greatly suffer, for the sword would be out of his reach. This was a move he would only use in situations either when he knew that he would not miss, or when he was desperate. Looking up at the slowly brightening sky, he resumed his training.

The fateful night that he had escaped from Iselia still haunted him. If only he had been stronger, then he would not have had to leave. The Tetheallans would not have destroyed his hometown. He could have fought and beaten them, had he only known the skills he knew now.

But that was the past. It was over. Done. Nothing that he would do would affect it, so he might as well move on. Although the past couldn't be affected by the present, the present could affect the past, and Kratos vowed that he would never again be too weak to protect what he cared about. If another village that he cared about was attacked, it would not burn. That much, he could make sure.

Thoughts burned through his mind as he swung his sword in arcs of ever increasing speed. Abruptly, he would dash forward, stabbing with the sword. However, unlike other swordsmen, who would waste precious time recovering their balance and pulling their sword back, Kratos just jumped farther forward, turning his lunge into a slice as well. There was not a moment when he was not striking. His speed increased as he thought back to his village. Never again would he allow such suffering.

With lightning speed, Kratos pulled through his entire arsenal of sword techniques. He continued striking, alone atop the mountain peak. Sweat streaked down the young boys body. The sun struck upon the world from its zenith, searing with its mighty rays. Only after half of the day had passed did Kratos finally end his training.

After sitting in the cool snow for a little while, the warrior stood and headed back to his people. He slowly walked down the mountain, taking care not to slip on the frozen ground; he didn't want to injure himself mere days before crossing through the Darkness Temple. Slowly, he picked his way, heading back down the way he had come up. Light reflected off the snow, striking his eyes. Gingerly, he continued his trek.

As Kratos crossed the last crest between him and the settlement, he reeled back in shock. A battle was raging. The Darkness Temple scientists had stumbled upon the Iselian refugees and recognized them as being from Sylvarant. Their Aonis infusion gave them the ability to sense people near them, and anyone who they did not sense magic in would be from Sylvarant. Seeing "ice tornado" spells rise up around his people, the young boy rushed down, drawing his sword. As he descended, he noticed another group of Tetheallans arriving from the opposite side.

Hoping to warn the Iselians of the impending threat, he rushed himself, pelting down the mountainside. As he reached the settlement, sharp shards of ice began to cut across his skin as they swirled around him. Pushing his way out of the spell, he screamed out to the warriors trying to fight back, warning them of the looming attack.

Turning around, Kratos struck out against the present foes. He rushed forward, jumping out of the way of another "ice tornado." He leapt at the closest of the mages, coming down with his sword held above his head. With a quick slash, he killed his first opponent only to be sent flying back by an "aqua laser" spell. Feeling the flashing pain of the spell fading away from his body, Kratos jumped to his feet. He leapt aside as a "wind slash" formed where he had been only seconds ago. Beside him, one of his fellow leaders was struck by a relatively strong "spread" and fell to the floor. He was an old man and died immediately from the force of the strike. Seeing his comrade fall beside him, Kratos seethed with rage. He dashed at the person responsible for the death, avenging the old man by sending his sword cutting through the mage.

* * *

With the arrival of the second group of Tetheallans, the refugees had fallen into complete despair. The battle could not be won. They had fled, now numbering a mere tenth of what they once were; only ten people survived. Seeing that everyone else was dead, they had slipped away, hiding in the Darkness Temple. Kratos, his mother, four of the younger leaders, and four of the fighting refuges were all that remained. Slowly, they plodded through the empty structure, staying away from the eerie lighting that illuminated the interior lest they be caught. Silently, they brooded on their losses: friends had died, family had been torn away, ninety people whom they had known had left the world. Dark thoughts filled their minds as they searched for the exit located on the other end of the abandoned temple.

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No Reviews :( 

Oh well. I guess I really shouldn't have expected any, seeing that this is my first fanfic. Well, second chapter up. Hope I can complete the third one soon. If you like my story, pls let me know. I don't think I will be able to continue this without any encouragement. For all of you who do read this far: Thanks.

Please review and i hope you don't flame.


	3. Chapter 3: Rare Sickness

kopakanuvafan20: Thanx for the review. I searched around for this kind of story on the site but couldn't really find too many, so I decided to write it myself. Hope you keep reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or anything contained therein.

* * *

The sun shone down from the open sky. A bright blue blanket lay upon the earth with a single burning orb embedded in its center. Its heat beat down upon the brown sands, warming them to the point of burning. Fires occasionally sparked from the ground, flaring up and then fading away. Here, in the land under the influence of the Fire Temple, traveling was very hard.

Only eight of the initial hundred refugees remained. What had once been a village was now a handful of travelers. It had been two years since the fateful day outside the Darkness Temple when the massacre had occurred. Without the obsidian armor worn by the army of Sylvarant, the people of the country were defenseless against the magic wielded by the Tetheallans. This had been painfully proven in the mountains.

As they had traveled through the temple of Shadow, dark thoughts had flooded their minds. The bleak environment had done nothing to assuage their depression. In was in this stupor that they had been accidentally run into two of the scientists. The mages had been caught by utter surprise, and their reaction was delayed. Still, they had managed to kill two of the leaders of the Iselian band before Kratos could silence them. Their magic gave them too great an advantage. Even fighting ten to two they had suffered losses.

To make matters even worse, it didn't look like the rest of the refugees would survive either. They had hoped to meet with people from Sylvarant at a small town located near the edge of the desert. However, when they arrived, they found that the entire village in ashes. A lone man lay dying. He informed them of what had happened.

The Tetheallans had attacked the village. Those who had fought them were dead; their bodies had been incinerated in the multiple "fireball," "eruption," and "flame lance" spells. The survivors had all been taken as prisoners to Meltokio. There, they would probably be either tortured or made to work as slaves in the castle. A few people had who had been severely injured had been left behind, mistaken for dead. All the rest of them had died of their fatal injuries, and as the Iselians finished talking, so too did the man.

It was with a grave silence that they had entered the Triet Desert. They walked in silence, conserving every ounce of energy. Their water supply, which they had replenished at the village, was now running low. It was a long trek to the Triet Oasis City, and it was looking more and more as if they would not make the journey. Everyday, they grew weaker. The sun would boil them during the day, and the cold winds would shear their skins off in the night.

After suffering the blows dealt by the merciless weather, the travelers also had to endure the threat of the dangerous desert creatures during the day. Deadly scorpions with barbed stingers and piercing claws scuttled around on their multiple legs. Bright green snakes armed with lethal venom slithered across the boiling sand. At night, the critters of the arid land would go and hide under rocks and behind the occasional cactus. However, that did not mean that the Iselians were safe. Bandits and robbers roamed the open expanse, hoping to find unfortunate people to stab with their poison coated dagger and steal money and food from. They lived a rough life in a rough place and made the lives of all those who entered their lands rough as well. Yet, they were still humans. While Kratos could slaughter endless amounts of scorpions and snakes, to kill a human was not the same. The Tetheallan soldiers had been able to use magic. He had been too preoccupied with trying to stay alive when fighting against them to reflect upon his actions, but these bandits were not the same. They were easy to kill. And they were human.

Trials followed the group everywhere they went, hounding them at every step. Still, they pushed on with dogged perseverance. As they ventured farther into the desert in search of the Triet Oasis, the conditions became worse. Three more people lost their lives. Two had been citizens of Iselia. The third was another of the leaders. Now, only two citizens and three leaders remained. Although they still held their titles, they had all been equal since their arrival at the Darkness Temple. It mattered not who was a leader and who wasn't. All that mattered was whether or not you could fight and survive.

* * *

Four people stumbled into the city of Triet. A young, twelve year old boy led them. His purple shirt and pants were covered in the desert dust. Blood stained his clothes and sword. What had once been a sheathe hung by his side, now nothing but a bunch of torn pieces barely held together. He carried on his back a person larger than him. Her face was haunted, her eyes open and unseeing. Her long, mahogany hairs flowed down onto the boys face, mingling with his similar colored ones. Behind him limped two men and a woman, starvation gnawing at their shriveled bodies. The people of Triet watched as the tattered band entered their city. The men and the woman barely made it in past the large walls before they passed out, dehydration taking its toll.

The boy, however, seemed to be possessed by desperate energy. He trudged forward, approaching the wall of spectators. His brown eyes implored them to answer his plea as he asked them for help. His mother was dying. His people were dying. He was dying. They needed help. They needed water. They needed food. His eyes beseeched them to help. Seconds later, he too collapsed and lay upon the cobbled street, eyes closed.

* * *

A month had passed since Kratos had come to Triet City. The people had been hesitant to help him at first, but once they learned that he was not from Tethealla, they seemed to relax. Four families from the city had decided to take the Iselians into their care. Kratos and Maria Aurion had been accepted into the house of an old man. He was willing to provide them with a home and food, so long as Kratos and his mother helped him around the house. Maria would do the cleaning while Kratos would often help with repairs or would go to the market place.

Although she would act as if she was fine, Kratos knew that his mother was suffering. What the cause or the problem was, hard as he tried, he could not discern. With this worry burdening his thoughts, The young boy walked into the open marketplace. He turned at the food store, exiting the stall after having his hands filled with vegetables. Turning around to go back to the house, he stole a glance at the weapon shop. Swords and shields gleamed from its glass windows. One of the weapons, a gleaming sword of good craftsmanship, was on a stand above the others. The store was trying to sell it out, it was being offered at a discounted price.

Smiling, Kratos headed towards the old man's house only to find him trying to hammer wooden boards on the wall again. It looked as if someone had fainted and fallen through his feeble wall once again, leaving their outline in it. Kratos was surprised at the frequency with which this would occur. He came back to him and handed him the groceries, taking the woodwork over from him. As he hammered the planks into the wall, his thoughts went to what he would do later that day. This was his final task for the day.

A few days ago, he remembered mentioning his mother's problem to one of the healers in town. She had said that she would see if she could decipher what was ailing her. As Kratos finished hammering the boards in, he turned and began walking towards the healing center.

The large building had a tall spire rising from the front. Its large, brown doors, made of wood, creaked open loudly as the young boy entered. As he closed them behind himself, the lighting dulled. Only thin rays of light, filtered through the colored windows, shone into the large hall. A door on the far side opened as a young woman walked out. She wore a cream colored robe and a hat covered her head.

"Hello, Kratos. It's good to see you again."

"Hi, Cacao. Nice to see you too."

"How's your mother feeling?"

"She's fine. I came to ask if you'd found anything about her illness."

"She didn't let me examine her too much, but from what I saw, it appears to be a very rare disease. It's caused when the venom of the desert snakes mixes with its dried counterpart that the bandits coat their dagger with. The disease is held in check by the desert's extreme temperatures, but when the victim recieves relief from the weather, the disease kicks in. I'm guessing she contracted it while you were traveling through the desert. It started developing once you came here because the house you stay in provides protection from the heat of the day and the chill of the night."

"What does the illness do? How can it be cured?" Kratos was desperate. His father he had lost. His entire village had dwindled down to five people in front of his very own eyes. He could not afford to lose his mother as well.

"As far as a cure is concerned, there isn't any that I can utilize. The only way of curing it would be to seek help from the elves of Hiemdal. I don't know if they will even let you into Ymir Forest, much less about whether they will help you. The effect of the illness only makes the matter worse. At first, it only causes weakness, steadily worsening over two years. After that, the afflicted person is sure to die within the next year."

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Well. A bit shorter than the previous one. And finally, I have a review. That would be my first. Thanx kopakanuvafan20. Well, pls review. 


	4. Chapter 4: Death of a Comrade?

Ruler of the Abyss: Wow. Thanx for the review. I'm glad you like the story. I guess this is a day early, but I had it typed up so I figured I'd post it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Slowly, Kratos turned and left Triet behind him. His mother walked on one side of him while Mark, one of the Iselians walked on the other. The other two survivors of Iselia had decided to stay in Triet. With Kratos leading, the three hoped to arrive at Ymir Forest within a few weeks. How long it would take to pass through the forest and to gain entry into the city of Heimdall was a different matter altogether. 

"So how do you plan on finding your way through Ymir, young Kratos?" Mark asked as the desert wind whipped his long, shoulder-length, blue hair across his plain face, momentarily covering his deep blue eyes.

"I leave that to the elves. It is said that when they sense that someone lost in the forest, they search their souls. Those with hostile intents are led out, while those who mean them no harm are guided by them."

"Those are only rumors. You will trust your life to them?"

"Yes. They are all that I have to guide me. I will risk my life on them, in order to give my mother's life a chance to continue."

"Very admirable. Your care for others and optimism is a quality that you should cherish. Never let anyone take it away from you."

"…" Not knowing how to reply, Kratos remained silent.

"I happen to have gone to Heimdall once before. The Sylvarant kingdom sent me to try and discuss an alliance with the elves. They didn't take the idea well, but were courteous. What you have heard isn't the truth."

"…" Surprise filled Kratos, but he decided to remain silent and let the man continue.

"When someone enters the Ymir Forest, they are most likely already being followed by the elves. They observe and decide whether or not they can trust the person. If they find them dangerous, they kill them. If they find them to be worthy, they take them to their city. Those who they cannot come to a decision about end up wandering around lost. They usually die in there. After all, the elves live for about a thousand years. To them, time matters little. In what seems to them like an insignificant amount of time can cause one of us to grow old and die.

"You will get to see what I mean if and when we get to meet them. Never pressure them to hurry, for they feel insulted by it. They will often take their time about doing things, but if they give their word, they stick by it. There are many other things that you ought to know as well. I'll tell them to you as we go."

* * *

Kratos slid his foot forward, sending sand flying into the robber's eyes. Taking the open chance, he dashed forward and swung his sword, intending to split him in half. Before it made contact, however, the bandit's friend stuck his knife in from the side and blocked the boy's attack. Mark took the chance to strike at the first bandit's open back with his double-bladed sword. As Kratos spun his sword in a spiral having disarmed his opponent of his dagger, the other bandit fell to the hot sand with a cut across his back. His friend turned and ran. The two warriors let him leave, not wanting to harm when unnecessary. 

As the threat left, Maria Aurion came closer to Mark. She had trained for a short while in the arts of healing while she was in Triet, and she had seen the Iselian take a cut across his arm. When she arrived in front of him, however, he backed away.

"Come on, Mark. Show me your arm; I'll bandage it up for you."

"Oh, okay. Fine." Quickly, he held his hand behind his back before he brought it out to her.

Maria brought out her salve and bandages as Mark sat down and uncovered his arm. A gash lay open down the length of it, blood slowly flowing from it. Kratos' mother bandaged it up, silently noting that the arm that had been injured in the battle had been the other one.

Soon, the three were walking again. The weather wasn't as severe anymore and small patches of grass could be seen as they finally neared the end of the desert. With the supplies they had brought from the city with them, the journey had been much easier than the previous one. As they continued on, Kratos slowly fell a little farther back to walk beside his mother, allowing Mark to lead the path ahead. His eyes glanced on the long double-blade that Mark kept strapped to his back to find that it had two bloody points though he had only struck once. The young boy noticed that his mother was also staring at the same spectacle and decided not to comment.

* * *

"Well, another thing to worry about the elves is that you don't insult them," Mark continued his advice to Kratos. They had taken a rest during the time when the sun was at its zenith, preferring to travel in the cooler air of the afternoon. "Elves tend to be very picky about their honor. They have many codes, and if you break any of their unspoken rules, they tend to hate you for them. Some of them make sense, such as not harming any of them, but others seem rather pointless. I'll tell you about these sometime later." 

Kratos noticed why Mark had stopped talking to him. Ahead, two large bears approached them. This surprised the young boy; these creatures should not be living so close to the desert. Only then did he realize how far from the arid land they had traveled. The land was green, covered in grass. Beside them, large mountains rose, covered in green vines. They had entered the Ossa-Lathorean Pass. It was the easiest way through the mountains east of the Triet desert. They would now descend into a deep gorge bounded by waterfalls: the Lathorean Gorge. After rising out of that, they would have to hike up a path known as the Ossa Trail.

For now, they would fight. Maria fell back as her son dashed past her, drawing his sword in a blur of speed. Mark drew his long weapon, holding it as his side, slowly coming forward. A loud roar announced success as Kratos slid down one of the animals' backs, leaving behind an open, bleeding wound. The creature turned around, swiping horizontally with its large paws. Having anticipated the move, the young boy ducked quickly. What he hadn't anticipated was that the second bear would swipe its claws at him vertically down immediately afterwards.

Mark dashed in as Kratos was slammed into the ground. He spun his double-blade around in a spiral, sending excruciating pain through the bear as one of its arms was given three long gashes. Mark noticed the other bear going for the young Iselian and dashed after it. He distracted it by sticking his weapon straight through its back, stabbing hard and then yanking it back out. As blood spurted from the open wound, Mark turned to face the other creature.

Kratos shook the dizziness from his head and sat up. The bear had caught him off guard. Turning back to the battle, he found Mark being attacked by only one bear; the other lay dying. The living bear raised one of its paws, poised to smash down. As Mark raised his blade to parry, it suddenly lunged forward, slamming its other paw directly into the Iselin's stomach. Seeing Mark double over and drop his weapon, Kratos rushed forward. As he dove at the bear with his sword raised, he barely registered a white light close to Mark out of the corner of his eyes.

With a single blow, the battle was over. As both bears lay dead, Maria came towards the warriors. While Kratos was still feeling unsteady due to the blow he had taken, Mark seemed as if he had never been hit. Still, Maria bandaged up both of them before their trio continued on its way.

* * *

"Is there anything else that is important that I should know about the elves, Mark?" Kratos inquired, gingerly picking his way over the rocks covering the Ossa Trail. His feet were covered in bee stings and were paining him greatly despite the salve that his mother had lathered onto them. 

"Well, another thing that you should be aware of is that they hate it when you lie to them. They are very perceptive and can tell almost immediately if you are not telling the truth. However, it is not wise to always tell them everything. What you must do is tell only as much of the truth as they demand. To withhold information that they have requested is folly and so is giving them more than what they have asked for." Mark seemed to be doing fine. He could somehow find the smoothest path around the boulders placed on the path. The animals also seemed to somehow hurt him else, although he did sport his share of bee stings, Kratos had noted with smug satisfaction.

"Another matter to note is their utter hatred of half-elves. We of Iselia never dealt with them so you probably hadn't noticed, but they are left out of both, the human and the elven societies. To be a half-elf is to be disgraced for life, and the elves seem to carry this hatred greater than the humans."

"Why?" Kratos interjected. "What is wrong with being a half-elf?"

"As the elves put it, the half-elves carry the power of the elves and the folly of the humans. Humans, while foolish, do not have the power to change the world, and thus they do not matter. The elves, while they have the power to change the world, they are wise and can control themselves. The half-elves, however, have the folly of the humans and the power of the humans, leading them to be dangerous.

"The real matter, however, is different. As I learned while I stayed with the elves, they hate humans. The humans in return hate the elves. Both do this because they are different from one another. A half-elf is an abomination. To the elves, the human blood taints them and dirties them even beyond a human, and vice versa. It is a very irrational hatred that should be removed, but is held tight by both the humans and the elves."

Mark's face seemed to be etched in hatred. He broke off and sped up, walking a little farther ahead of Kratos. After a short while, however, he slowed down and let the young boy come beside him again.

"We are almost at the elven forest, Kratos. I have been with the elves before, and my stay did not go well. I ask that you go on alone with your mother. They hold a grudge against me, but not against you two; for me to come with you would only be a hindrance."

Before Kratos could complain, they had left the mountain trail. As soon as they crossed the final bend in the trail, they saw a spectacle before them. Magical blasts raged across the open expanse in front of the Ymir Forest. Weapons gleamed in the midday light as they sought blood. The armies of Sylvarant and Tethealla were waging a battle.

"Quick, Kratos, you must head for the forest. Do not be seen, for either side would see you as a spy for the other. Run, now!"

Together, the three headed for the sanctuary of the leafy shade. As they neared it, one of the fighters from the battlefield noticed them. He broke off and headed at them. His black armor gleamed in the sunlight, noting him as being from Sylvarant.

Before Kratos could turn around and fight, Mark had already drawn his blade. "Kratos, get your mother to the elves. I'll handle this warrior and then get back to Triet. Make sure you complete your goal, and if the elves let you stay, then do so, for the war has never reached them. There, you will be safe. Go!"

Maria and Kratos Aurion ran towards the safety of the trees right before them. As they entered the shade and were hidden by the darkness from all those outside, Kratos turned to look back at his friend. Mark had raised his double-blade and was about to spin it across the armored knight's throat. The black warrior was faster. He stuck his sword quickly into his opponent's stomach.

Tears sprang to Kratos' eyes as he stared at Mark going limp. As the sword was pulled out, both friends fell to their knees, one in pain and one in anger. Before the young boy could draw his sword and rush for vengeance, his mother grabbed him tightly. She pulled him around and urged him farther into the forest, telling him not to let Mark's sacrifice be in vain.

* * *

Poor Mark. 

Anyway, make sure to read and review. Pls review and let me know if I'm contrary to the anything said in the game because it's been a year since I played it. Also let me know if I have any grammer or spelling mistakes and I'll try to fix them.

Thanx for reading.


	5. Chapter 5: Elven Trust

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

* * *

As Kratos rushed through the forest, guiding his mother, he kept his attention focused on nothing other than his footing. First of all, the paths were all formed of thin wooden bridges over a large lake, and secondly the less he thought of what had just happened, the better. His friend had died for his sake, and now he would do all that he could to make that sacrifice worth it. 

Because his attention was so narrowly focused, the young boy did not see the figure standing in his path. He ran headfirst into an armored elf, falling backward rubbing his banged head.

"Who are you and what do you want, human?" The elf demanded.

"I am Kratos Aurion and this is my mother, Maria Aurion. We seek shelter from the war and cure from a rare illness."

"You are humans. We have no reason to help you. Be gone! We have ourselves to worry about."

Before Kratos could give a reply, an arrow whizzed past his face, imbedding itself into a tree close to him. The elf snapped around, firing off three arrows simultaneously. He was met with success as three obsidian-covered figures fell limply out of the trees.

"If you wish to keep your life, you would head to the village. Perhaps the elder will listen to your plea. Do not disturb the elves guarding here, for we are busy defending our people and do not need an extra distraction."

The boy and his mother rushed away past the elf, heading in the direction he had indicated to them. Behind them, five mages were slain as an "Indignation" spell was fired off.

* * *

Silence reigned over the legendary elven village of Heimdall. Most of the occupants were outside, hidden among the trees of the surrounding Ymir Forest, waiting for and killing their assailants. Kratos ran along the path leading through the center of the small city. He ignored the stares of the elven women and children who peaked out at him from their doors and windows, whether in horror or awe, that he could not discern. Soon he came to a house that the path ended at. It was very similar to all the others, only slightly bigger. Hoping that it was the correct one, he stepped up onto the patio and prepared to knock on the door. 

Before Kratos could bring his hand to the wood, the door swung open inwards. He found himself staring into the face of a tall elven warrior. "Little human, why have you come here and who let you through?"

Maria Aurion stepped up from behind her son. "We have come here seeking shelter and aid. We met an elf who was busy battling in the forest. He told us to meet with the elder and ask him for help."

"Then you may go and ask him, but be quick for we are all very busy. Never before have the humans dared to attack the elves. They shall pay for this folly of theirs." So speaking, he stepped past them and left. Following him, ten more elven warriors exited, some carrying staffs, other bows, but none held swords.

Slowly, Kratos and his mother entered into the house. It was darker inside, lit only by the scarce sunlight of the setting sun that peaked through the windows after getting past the trees outside. In the center of the large room stood an old elf, his beard and drooping eyes signifying his great age.

"I heard your talk with the warrior who was leaving. Shelter I understand, but what is this 'aid' that you speak of? And also tell me your name."

"I am Maria Aurion, and this is my son, Kratos. I have an illness that the humans know not how to cure. My son, Kratos, has brought me here seeking a cure. I wish not to disturb you in this time of battle."

"I beseech you to help my mother," Kratos interjected. "I shall help you in your fight if I must. I am willing to die fighting here. All I ask is that you aid my mother."

The elven leader stepped up to Maria Aurion and stared into her eyes, searching for the disease he had been asked to heal. The humans could cure many diseases of the body with their accursed magitechnology, but any affliction of the soul would leave them helpless. Having determined what was hurting Maria, the elven elder turned to Kratos. "The disease is strong and will take a while to cure. I can promise you to help your mother if you fight for us. We are few in number and are unused to war. Your help will be appreciated, no matter how little the other elves speak of it."

Agreeing to fight with him, Kratos exited the house beside the elven leader. Soon, he found himself standing on a precariously thin wooden plank suspended over the Ymir Lake, swinging a sword desperately in order to keep himself from being killed. He jumped from platform to platform as arrows and magical spells whizzed all around him.

Large swordsmen covered in obsidian armor infested the eastern half of the forest, swinging large broadswords and sending bolts flying out of their crossbows. The elves replied to them by sending arrows flying from their longbows straight into the minute gaps between different parts of their magic-resisting armor.

The western side of the forest was swarming with lightly robed mages. Runes and symbols formed of colorful lights dazzlingly filled the air as spells were rapidly formed. Both, the elves and their attackers fought in the same manner. While the humans could only use the second level spells, most commonly "Flame Lance," "Eruption," "Spread," "Ice Tornado," "Thunder Blade," and "Air Blade," the elves could also use the third stages, namely "Indignation," "Tidal Wave," and "Cyclone" among others. On both sides, the battle seemed one-sided as the elves far out powered the humans. However, the humans had far greater numbers, and with time passing, the elves began to tire.

Kratos wove in and out of the elves and humans, stabbing through the openings in the armor that covered the enemies of the elves before they could draw near. He fought close to the elven elder, making sure that he did not get hurt. He deflected as many bolts as he could with the flat of his blade whenever they rained on the elf. He slashed at approaching mages, shredding them before they could launch their spells.

The elven warriors grew tired. Their bowstrings no longer sang as sharply, their spells lost their energy, fading down to the second or even first levels. Combination spells were nowhere to be seen. The only consolation that they had was that the Tetheallans and Sylvarant were fighting each other as well. Slowly, the elves pulled back. Although this reduced the protection for their village, it reduced the gap between their two enemies, causing them to fight each other more and the elves less.

While pulling back, Kratos and the elder were given a short respite. The boy took the chance to ask the elven leader his concerns.

"Elder, why are the humans attacking now when they have never done so before?"

"There was a time once before when they struck at us. We fell back then and they stole a great treasure from us. The kingdom of Sylvarant took from us the great sword, 'Flameberg.' Now they have come for the 'Vorpal Sword.' The only reason they did not attack before was that we could defeat Sylvarant on its own, and with the Flameberg against them, Tethealla could not even approach this area. When the warrior 'Odin' fell, Sylvarant lost its dominance and now they have come to determine who will play as the victor in their petty war from now on."

Soon, the elves aligned up and readied themselves to confront the humans once more. The rest had revitalized them to some degree, and they were able to hold their own once again.

Kratos blazed forth, angry at the greed shown by his race. He struck repeatedly, felling many of his adversaries. The elven leader beside him let lose torrents of spells, striking from below with "Tidal Wave" and from above with "Indignation." The two formed a deadly combination, allowing the electrical force of the thunder to permeate through the swirling currents of the water.

Just as the enemy seemed to thin out, a lucky arrow passed the protective barrier that the elves had formed around their elder. It passed through the edge of a "Thunder Blade" spell, gathering sparks of electricity on its metal tip. The aim was true; it would strike the elderly elf at his heart, and it would surely prove fatal because he wore no armor. Seeing the old elf, Kratos rushed forward. He had not known him for long, but he felt close to him because he had accepted him where the other elves had not. The young boy also felt a need for repaying him for all the times that the elder's spells had saved him during the battle.

With a sudden leap, Kratos flung himself in front of the head of the elven village. The arrow struck him in his arm, sending tendrils of purple energy searing through him. As the elven warriors stared in shock at the human who had saved their leader, the elder began chanting a spell.

One of the warriors from Sylvarant rushed forward. He seized the chance and leapt at the old elf standing in front of him, swinging his sword. Kratos, though dazed by the blow he had taken, managed to notice the danger. Not having the energy to parry, he put himself in the path of the attack. The sword was stopped from reaching the chanting elf. Instead, it sent a shock of searing pain through a young humans body.

A ball of fire fell from the sky. It landed upon the human warriors head, growing into a huge "Explosion" spell. As the ashes of the incinerated being flew away, a young boy fell into the water beside the burnt path. The elven leader jumped after Kratos as blood flowed freely from the open gash across his stomach.

* * *

Looks like no one reviewed the previous chapter. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed this one (Kratos didn't) 


	6. Chapter 6: Yggdrasill's Plight

Disclaimer: Same as always (chk previous chapters)

* * *

Pain. The only thing his mind registered was pain. There was nothing else. The pain filled him, leaving no space for anything else. Exerting a great force, he brought himself to some state of consciousness. 

Kratos. His name was Kratos. He reached his hand to his stomach, finding his movements extremely sluggish. A large gash met his touch, and the pain that shot through him threatened to bring the engulfing darkness back. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came forth. Instead, water came filling in. As his breath left him, he snapped his eyes open. He saw a shimmering set of fingers descend upon him as his mind ceased to respond.

* * *

With a sudden gasp, Kratos awoke. He was out of the water. Opening his eyes, he noticed a wooden roof above him. The pain from his wound was far less. He was surprised to notice that he was still living. Without turning onto his side, he could somehow tell that the elven leader was beside him. Somehow, he found that he had received an awareness that he did not have before. 

A sudden spark in his consciousness informed him that his mother was outside the room he was in. He was proved correct as she walked in.

"How is he, Elder?"

"Take a look. He is awake."

She came over and saw Kratos lying on the bed, brown eyes staring up to meet her black ones. His body was covered by a thin blanket, but she knew that beneath it were swathes of bandages. He had his chest wrapped in cloth. His other wounds, gashes across his limbs were similarly bound.

* * *

After Kratos had fallen into the Ymir Lake, the elven leader had jumped in after him and pulled him out. With all the elves out of magic and the elder tired, they had no choice but to give in. The Sylvarant and Tetheallan armies had both fought. In the end, it was the Tetheallans who had achieved the Vorpal Sword. Having achieved their goal, the humans left, the Tetheallans in triumph and the Sylvarant in retreat. 

The elder had tended to the young boy's injuries. The wounds had been healed with what little mana the elves had left. Those that were too serious for the magic to work on were bandaged and treated manually. However, it seemed as if he would not survive. Kratos had lost too much blood. No matter what they did, they could not revive him.

The elder had then taken a step that no other elf ever had. He had decided to repay Kratos for saving his life by giving him his blood. This had given the human the ability to use magic. Kratos was now a human swordsman with elven magic. Because his blood was part-elven and not aonis-infused, his magic was far stronger than the Tetheallan mages. His swordsmanship, through his self-training was now stronger than that of the Sylvarant warriors.

* * *

Kratos emerged from the house where he was staying. He enjoyed walking around Heimdall. It was very refreshing with the clean air and water. The trees grew tall and green. Lush and thick bushes dotted the village. Unlike Ymir Forest, Heimdall was not built atop a lake. It was more like a village on one end of a large island in the middle of the Ymir Lake. 

On the other end of the island was the Torent Forest, an area held sacred by the elves. It was there that Origin, the king of summon spirits, lived. He was the one who had created the Flameberg and the Vorpal Sword, the former by crystallizing fire, the latter by molding ice and water. The Kingdom of Sylvarant had won the Flameberg, labeling its weilder, Cruxis Aurion, as "Odin." Now, the greatest warrior of Tethealla, Mystar Wilder, wielded the Vorpal Blade. He had been named "Fenrir."

The young boy would often go and stand at the entrance to the forest. Staring into it, but never entering out of respect for the sacredness that the elves held it in. It was there that he had met Seraphim. She was a human scientist from Tethealla who had run away from Ozette after marrying an elf named Lersil Yggdrasill. She had reached Heimdall and there she had lived in her husband's home with her daughter, Martel. The Tetheallans had chased her since four years ago around the time when her daughter was five. Now, she would sit at the entrance to the Torent Forest with her second child, the two-years-old Mithos Yggdrasill.

The elves had allowed her to live out of respect for Lersil who had been one of the key warriors involved in keeping the elves out of the humans' wars. Her daughter had been allowed to live only to keep the family together. Now, however, with her newborn child, the matter had been brought up again. The elves were again reminded that she was not elf, but human. Now they had to endure not one half-elf but two.

Another matter, far worse, was that the Tetheallans had seen her and recognized her during their raid. Because of their injuries and casualties and the presense of the Sylvarant army, they had been unable to do anything. Now, with the Vorpal Blade, they would surely return.

As Kratos went over these matters in his head, he heard the cracking of a twig behind him. Turning around, he noticed that Seraphim Yggdrasill was approaching. She wore a long green dress with silver patterns on it, and as always, she wore white gloves over her hands.

"Kratos, how nice to see you!" Seraphim spoke in a soft voice. "You look worried. What is on your mind?"

"I was wondering about what would happen to you. With the Tetheallans arriving any moment and the support of the elves waning, how will you handle yourself?" Silence reigned after he asked his question. Finally, Kratos continued on. "I am worried about you and your family. While Martel seems to have picked up quite well on magic, she can only heal. You cannot fight yourself. The only person who can struggle is your husband."

"It is okay, Kratos," she reassured him. "I'm sure I will be fine."

"Tell me again. Why would they come after you?"

"I was the top researcher in Sybak. When they began the battle enhancement project, they sent me to Ozette. There, I met Lersil, who was working undercover as a spy for the elves. I helped develop a device known as the exsphere. However, as Sylvarant too discovered, it held great drawbacks. Although it brought out a person's full potential, in return, it drew the mana into itself. Whenever a person exerted themselves, the crystal would help them, and as they tired, it would draw the mana into itself instead of letting it return to the person. The way to prevent this side-effect was by creating a seal that would not allow the exsphere to drain the mana. This seal was created from inhibitor ore, a fragment of zircon and another fragment of mana. However, it seemed that the seal was too strong and that it blocked out the desired effects of the crystal as well.

That was when I began to seriously research into this phenomenon. By removing the fragments of zircon and mana, I managed to bring it to a stage where the exsphere could function without being overly dangerous. The old seal was called a Rune Crest, and the new one was the Key Crest. Because I managed to handle the project so well, they tried to get me to develop a stronger version of the exsphere. By taking a look at the crystal they salvaged from the Sylvarant commander, Cruxis Aurion, your father, I managed to develop what we named the Cruxis Crystal. Its effects, however, are not fully known. All that we know is that it can strengthen the body to such a stage as to even stop aging. However, I did not allow them to have the designs to this crystal. I ran away with them, and now they are still seeking them."

"I see. Then I shall try my best to protect you."

"Thank you, Kratos."

* * *

Kratos lay awake on his bed in the elven elder's house. He had had the talk with Seraphim only a few days ago. Try as he would to go to sleep, he kept on waking up again with a bad premonition. He knew that something would happen tonight. Getting up, he walked over to see how his mother was doing. Standing outside her door, he tried sensing her using his magical abilities. All he found out was that she wasn't there. 

Starting to panic, the young human left the house to look outside. His heart suddenly calmed as he saw his mother standing just outside, staring up at the many stars.

"What is wrong, mother?"

"I see you couldn't sleep either. I have a feeling that something terrible will happen tonight."

"I fell the same, however, I believe that we should go back inside. You should get some rest."

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll go inside after a little while."

After watching his mother for a little while, Kratos walked on. Elven houses lined the path that he walked down. Trees lined up behind the houses, creating a sense of being isolated in a separate world. As he came close to Lersil's house, he noticed that the elf stood outside.

"Lersil, how are you?"

"My health is fine, Kratos. However, everything is not okay. The elves had a meeting yesterday as you know. They decided that although my family is welcome to stay here, they will not get involved if anyone comes for them. In other words, if Tethealla comes for my wife, I will be the only one protecting her."

"You will not be standing alone." Kratos looked into the elf's bright green eyes. As the wind softly lifted strands of Lersil's green hair, he explained himself: "Even if the elves do not fight alongside you, I will."

"Thank you, Kratos. For a human to do so much for an elf and his half-elven children is a rare thing. I hope that you can hold to your standards as your life continues."

After their conversation, the two men separated. Lersil entered his home while Kratos continued on. Soon, after the houses ended, he turned off the path and entered the surrounding wilderness of trees. There, he walked aimlessly, trying to collect his thought. The feeling of dread struck at him and it kept him from focusing.

Deciding that the only way to distract himself was to train his mind, Kratos readied his mana. He began chanting under his breathe as he envisioned his target, a large rock two yards away from him. As he finished his preparation, he let out a hiss, "Grave." Rock spires pierced out of the ground in a circle around his target, leaning towards it. Soon, the boulder was covered in a teepee formed of the earth. Then, as the brown pentagram that had formed around the magic swordsman disappeared, a single stalagmite larger than the rest rose from the center, splitting its quarry in three parts and sending them all rising into the air. Kratos gathered his mana again, quickly unleashing a "Fireball" spell. A trio of red balls flew from him, heading to the tree pieces of airborne rocks in a blazing line. As all three made contact with their targets, Kratos unleashed a third spell. A giant sword of thunder fell from the sky, pinning the three smouldering pieces of the boulder into the ground. With a sudden snap, a shock of electricity vaporized everything within a short distance from the "Thunder Blade" spell's center.

Sitting silently, recovering his used mana, Kratos suddenly stiffened. Something was wrong. He listened closely to the silence of the forest, sending out tendrils of his mana to help his senses. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Fear rushed through him. He had reached out and touched the elven village with his magic, and what he saw caused him to freeze with fear.

* * *

I don't know. I just feel a little uncomfortable with this chapter. It just doesn't seem to flow together too well. 

Anyway, I hope I can get the next chapter up soon. I'm starting to get rather busy with summer college courses (Is there anyone who thinks that taking 41 credits in the fall isn't a bad idea?).


	7. Chapter 7: Fateful Night

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Tales of Symphonia (although it would be nice to).

* * *

With great urgency, Kratos raced through the trees surrounding Heimdall. He kept his magical senses focused on the threat he had located only moments ago, making sure that he knew exactly where to head. He raced through the trees, jumping over low bushes and ducking under low branches. Trees raced by as large blurs of green. Kratos sped forward, sailing silently under the canopy of stars. With a sudden leap, his feet flew from the grass below him, softly alighting on a long branch. 

The branch was too weak. It cracked, splitting down the middle as gravity claimed it. However, long before the first snapping sound had been heard, Kratos had jumped away, choosing to move onto the straw roof of the closest elven house. From there, he raced forward, leaping off from the far end, past the patio, and landing neatly on the village path.

His feet touched the ground as his body continued its decent. He came down, finally stopping with both hands, both feet, and one knee in contact with the earth. Lifting his head and throwing back his brown hair, Kratos stared forward, waiting only for a split second to restore his mana before bounding off towards Lersil's home.

Two black robed mages stood on the patio, pentagrams glowing white under one, brown under the other. Lersil was running in from the side, his equipment singed and frozen. Rage had contorted his face as he lifted up his gleaming blade to strike down his enemies. Seraphim was standing pressed against the wall of the house, holding a staff in front as protection. Beside her was Maria.

As Kratos finally entered attack range, he fired off a "wind blade" to distract his foes. Before his spell materialized, both mages completed theirs. The young human drew out his silver blade as a "dreaded wave" commenced below his feet. Lersil had been close enough to Kratos for both of them to come tumbling down to their knees, dropping their weapons. It was the second mage's spell, however, that startled both of them even more.

At first, nothing happened. Soon, though, a deep rumbling began. It started off inaudible but soon grew to a deafening sound. Perplexed, the elf and human looked around. They were stunned with fear when their eyes reached the skies above them. Huge boulders clothed in flames, larger than a person, rained down from the heavens. With a thunderous sound, the deadly projectiles arrived at their target.

As one, Kratos and Lersil dashed forward, seizing their weapons. Both stood and placed their right feet forward. In complete syncronization, they unleashed a tenth of their mana into their swords. A green "guardian" field appeared around them just as the first of the areal strikes landed. Kratos pulled through the impact of the blow. He was ready to release his spell when the rock embedded in the ground at his feet exploded. By sheer luck, he survived.

Beside him, Lersil did not share the same luck. He had been tired from his fight before Kratos had arrived. When the meteor had impacted, his mana ran out, leaving him defenseless for the following explosion. He flew backwards, slamming into a tree trunk and slumping to the grass, blood covering the back of his head.

As the smoke cleared, Kratos peered through, seeking any sign of his mother. Through the haze, he saw that four of the meteors had crashed into the house of his fallen comrade. Worrying about Maria Aurion's life, Kratos jumped forward. A sudden blow from a "stone blast" spell informed him that the mages were targeting him already. Weary from the previous injuries, he felt his conciousness slipping but resumed his focus and forged forward, holding his sword tight in his hands.

Dodging a "gravity well" and an "explosion" through the swirling dust, the young boy struck at one of his assailants. With a single slice, he neatly cut him in half, only to be sent spiraling away in a "cyclone" from the other. Taking another look up, Kratos was surprised to note that Seraphim was standing, holding her staff in a defensive position. Behind her was Maria. Although the entire house had been demolished, the small portion shadowed by the women was standing untouched.

The black-robed mage did not seem surprised at all. He simply turned and rushed at the humans. As Kratos tried to catch up to him, he noted something different about the attacker. Although the Tetheallans were always mages, this one carried not a staff, but an elaborately decorated sword in a sheath. As he got within Seraphim's range, he drew the blade out, showing its torquise color. The icy blue glittered ethereally in the night, letting off a calm glow that belied its threat.

With an unearthly clang, the shaft of Seraphim's Crystal Rod held against the robed man's Vorpal Blade. The force of the blow knocked Seraphim to her knees as the assassin's hood fell off. Mystar Wilder, "Fenrir," wielder of Vorpal Blade, pushed further, causing Seraphim to have her own rod pressed tightly against her throat with his sword brushing against her cheek.

"Give up and return. The kingdom of Tethealla is willing to forgive you for running away. All you have to do is to return to working at the Ozette Laboratory and to return the three Cruxis Crystals that you have."

Seraphim's eyes darted around fearfully. She paused for a second, noticing Kratos, blade raised, stealthily approaching Mystar from behind. She turned back to her foe, lowering her face and relaxing her grip. "Alright, Commander Mystar. I shall come with you. However, there are certain conditions that I will need met before I leave Heimdall. I want you to promise me that you will leave this village alone and never harm it again. You will also provide me with transportation on rheards, not by foot. I will also need to have a large room at the Lab, with full facilities…"

As Seraphim held up the distraction, Kratos finally managed to arrive right behind Lersil's murderer. With a sudden burst of speed, he swung the sword down onto the flaming red hair in front of him.

Mystar, sensing the danger, moved forward. He realized that he had been betrayed as he felt not only a sword cutting through his back, but also a rod deflecting his sword and stabbing him in the ribs. In utter rage and pain, he swung his sword around, using a "super lightning blade" technique to charge it with mana. The desperate attempt struck through Seraphim Yggdrasill, slicing through her and heading for Kratos.

Tired as he was, the human knew there was no way for him to survive. His sword had already left his hands and was lying on the floor. His feet were too tired to evade the blow. Closing his eyes, Kratos readied himself for the end of his life.

With a sudden leap, Maria Aurion picked up the Crystal Rod lying at her feet and jammed it hard against the back of Mystar's head. With his head reeling, Mystar Wilder spun around and jumped back. He had lost too much blood. He would have to return soon. With a sudden spurt of energy, he used a "spark wave" spell on Maria. As his mother writhed in pain, Kratos struck out wrathfully with his Silver Sword. However, before his sword could touch Mystar, the Tetheallan had faded away in a shower of thin beams of mana. He had warped away.

* * *

Silently Kratos sat with his back against a tree. The cool shade at the entrance of the Torent Forest calmed him. With a sigh, he turned his face down; he could sense the mana of the approaching elven leader. 

"Kratos… I am sorry." The elder came and sat down beside him. His face was also turned down. He let out a soft sigh. "I did everything I could. It just wasn't enough."

"I know…" Kratos looked at the elf. Although he was centuries old, he had always seemed young and energetic. Now, however, time had creased his brow and wrinkled his skin. A pale aura of misery surrounded him. The light of his eyes had dimmed. Yet, Kratos was not surprised, for he, too, felt the same. With his mother gone, no consolation would ever bring back the joy to his life that he used to have.

* * *

...yeah. Short. I know. 

Anyway, I think the writing's gotten better than the previous chapter. To all those reading this, I guess my update speed might get slower (especially if my chapters are to remain longer than a couple hundred words).

Please review and let me know what you think.

As a side note, if anyone can give me ideas for names of those chapters that lack them, I would appreciate it very much. Also, any ideas on how to improve the summary would be very welcome. Thanx and I hope you enjoy :)


	8. Chapter 8: Belated Reunion

Disclaimer: I own not Tales of Symphonia, nor do I own anything contained therein.

Josh and Kuraido Strifu: Thanx for your compliments. It's always nice to know that people like to read your story.

* * *

With a leap, Kratos evaded the "aqua laser" aimed at him. Without waiting, he dashed in and swung sideways with his Crystal Sword. An Ether Sword, worn from all the use since it had been bought from the shop at Heimdall, met Kratos' sword and stopped it. With a flick, the human disengaged the sword lock and drove in from above. His opponent ducked to the side and countered with a "wind blade" attack. 

The moment the spell activated, Kratos braced himself with a "guardian," linking it to a "double demon fang." As the half-elf facing him winced with pain from the direct hit, Kratos hopped back, distancing himself and commencing the chanting for a level two spell. By the time the spell had completed, the half-elf was up and rushing in with his weapon.

The Ether sword was suddenly raised in defense as a "thunder blade" spell descended from the sky. As the half-elf activated a "guardian" to protect himself from the spell, he had his sword knocked away by Kratos. The interruption broke his spell, causing him to take the full impact of the falling electrical sword. With a grunt, he fell to the floor.

"One and a half minute," Kratos stated. "Better than my estimation. I suppose you're improving, Mithos, but your swordplay is too slow and unfocused."

From the floor, Mithos sat up and nodded. His entire body was soaked in sweat despite the cold climate and his lack of a shirt. His thin, brown pants were drenched and clung to his body. Kratos, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing hard. His mahogany hair was covering the right side of his face, adding to the shade that the trees around them provided. Covering his body was a suit of deep blue, the color of water, inscribed with elven designs in a bright green pattern upon the back. His hands were fully sheltered from the cold beneath a pair of thick, black gloves, yet he managed to wield his sword without the slightest difficulty.

"Master Kratos…" Mithos gasped out as he drew in large gulps of air. "Again… Once more."

"You are tired, young apprentice. This is enough for today."

"No! I… want to battle… at least one… more time. Please… Master Kratos."

"If that is your desire. This time, you shall lose in under half a minute."

With a sudden dash, Kratos took off, blazing Crystal Sword coated in electricity for his "lightning blade" attack.

* * *

_The village elder approached Kratos. He spoke softly, sitting beside him under a large tree. Words of condolence were exchanged. Two friends, sharing feelings, sought to comfort one another. Human and elf. Friends._

_Later, an unconscious girl and her younger brother were found in a demolished house. The rubble had injured both, and it would have killed them had it not been for the unconscious use of magic on the older sister's part. Her body, reacting to her and her brother's peril, had sent forth streams of mana to cure the wounds inflicted upon them by the falling wood from their house. The decade-old girl had slumped down and lost consciousness as a board of wood lodged itself above her, enclosing her in a cage-like part of her house._

_As she had woken up, she had found that a human slightly older than herself, Kratos as her mother had called him, had rescued her and her brother. He was know kneeling on the floor beside her dead mother. Having made sure that there was not the slightest hope to revive her, he drew a white cloth over her. However, as he did so, the girl rushed forward and grabbed her mother's cold hand over its white glove._

_As Kratos gently pulled her hands away, the glove slipped off, revealing a shining red crystal set upon a golden seal. Inscribed in the seal were the words "to Mithos, when he is of age to bear the responsibility." Silently, Kratos pulled the crest and crystal off and then continued covering the dead body, hugging the crying girl close to him at the same time._

_Once he was done, the young man stood up and walked towards the house, seeking for the mana of the missing baby among the ruins of the house. Having found it, he approached a teepee made of fallen planks of wood. Carefully, he removed a few of the planks from the top of the pile, making a hole large enough for him to reach through and grab the fainted baby._

_While he emerged from the shambles, he held the boy in one hand and the had his other hand on the shoulder of the girl beside him. Painfully, he sent as much of his mana as he could to heal the wounds that the collapsing roof had inflicted upon them. Once he arrived at the elder's house, he released all the mana he had left and collapsed, once more coming to the door of death._

* * *

Kratos stopped walking and turned around. He stood on a mountain overlooking a small port town known as Izoold. As he looked back to see how Mithos and Martel were doing, he remembered the coldness towards the elves that he felt. They had turned out the two half-elves based on nothing other than their race. Now, they headed slowly towards Palmacosta, the capital city of the Sylvarant Kingdom. There, being the son a general, Kratos hoped to find some help. He knew that having half-elven companions might hinder him, but that couldn't be helped.

As he watched Martel slowly climb up the mountain, he remembered how shocked she had been at her mother's death. She had always been very gifted when it came to the possession and usage of mana, and when she lost herself to grief, her energy was sent flying in all directions. Magic was skewed and near impossible to use in the vicinity of Hiemdall for a full month after the incident due to her emotional outburst. It was a really fortunate thing that she despised war and would never use her mana to hurt anyone.

Ahead of Martel, someone reached down and pulled her up. Coming up, past an unusually large rock, she looked down at her helper. Mithos' light green eyes stared back at her. When they had first set out from the Ymir Forest, it had always been her helping her younger brother along, but after his training with Kratos began, he was quickly surpassing her in physical ability.

As he turned around, the young half-elven boy's mind flashed back through the past ages. Since he had left the elven village, they had been assaulted by monsters on multiple occasions. In order to learn to protect himself, Mithos had apprenticed himself to Kratos. Although his mana was far stronger than that of the human, Mithos found that Kratos could defeat him even without the use of a sword because of his expertise at controlling his magic. Slowly, Kratos had begun to teach him both, the art of the sword, as well as the art of magic. Now, they had come to be matched evenly in magic, but the half-elf was not built to use a sword, and he was thus the weaker of the two.

Kratos looked down from the mountain, measuring the distance left till they reached the city of Izoold. Had he been traveling with his mother and Mark, they would've gotten there within a day or two. However, not only did Mithos and Martel require more stops than his former companions, but they also took longer to rest. On top of that, he spent a great amount of time sparring with Mithos. For the trio, it would take another month to arrive at the port town.

"Martel is tired, Master Kratos," Mithos gasped out as he came up beside his teacher. "We should stop here and rest for awhile."

"…" Kratos remained silent, brooding on the boy's attitude. Mithos was as tired as his sister, yet he refused to show it. His perseverance was good, but his reluctance to acknowledge his flaws would have to be fixed. "If Martel is tired, she can rest here, and if you are tired, then you may rest as well. However, if you are not tired, then we can spar while your sister relaxes."

Mithos visibly paled at the thought of fighting the human swordsman while in a state of weariness, yet he would not show weakness. "Alright," he gulped out, "let's spar."

In a sudden flash, Kratos' silver blade was in his hand, slicing towards the young half-elf. With a cling, it came into contact with the superior ether sword, and a second later the two came away as the mightier weapon was sent spiraling away. Mithos bent down, hands upon his knees, breathing deeply; Kratos' blow had been very strong.

"You are tired. You should rest as well, Mithos."

As the young half-elf sat down, Kratos walked off to retrieve his lost blade. Martel approached her brother and bent down beside him, using her mana to restore his energy.

* * *

Silently, Kratos sat on a tree's roots, gazing up at the stars. They fascinated him. Behind him, a soft flame crackled, lighting up the darkness of the night. Around the fire, two half-elves slept peacefully.

Eight years. It had been eight years since the day when the meteors had fallen upon Heimdall. For all eight of those years, Kratos had wandered around the land, staying close to the elven forest, yet never daring to enter it. He knew how Mark had felt. Although the memory of the kindness with which the elven leader had accepted him remained, now he also knew how perilous the wrath of the elves was as well. They had been so furious when they had banished Mithos and Martel from the village.

Their reasoning was that Mithos and Martel were dangerous to the village. The assassin had not been killed; he had escaped. That meant that one day he might return to kill the two children. However, Kratos knew that the only reason they did not want them in the village was because of their race.

A slight crack reached the swordsman's ears as a twig broke just behind him. Within a second, he had gotten up and turned around, sword point at the intruder's neck. His mana senses told him that the culprit was half-elven. His sight told him that he was a human. The person standing in front of him had round ears without a hint of being pointy. Blue hair descended from the top of his head to midway down his back, tied behind him in a ponytail. Sapphire eyes stared out of a face that belonged to one who had died years ago.

"Hello, Kratos, I see your skills have improved," Mark said.

* * *

... well, what do you guys think of this? Let me know in your reviews. Again, any suggestions for chapter names are welcome (and don't feel offended if I don't use your suggestion) as well as any about the summary. 

Next chapter might take awhile (I never realized how busy taking 20 credits in the summer could make me. Hope the 40 during the fall semester doesn't prove too much).

On a side note, I've started a little thing in my profile which tells how much of the next chapter I am done with. Also, I'm pushing around the idea of writing another short one to two chapter fanfic on the ending of the symphonia game. It might take a while to come out.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

* * *

"Hello, Kratos. I see your skills have improved," Mark said.

Seeing his old comrade alive again, Kratos felt shaken by surprise. Since the death of his mother, he had closed in on himself, keeping his emotions and feelings hidden beneath a neutral countenance. No matter what happened, his face would not betray his emotions. Now, after eight years, the set expression that his face had grown used to broke. His mouth gaped open as he stared at the man standing in front of him. "Mark…" Kratos whispered.

"Yes, Kratos. It is me," the half-elf gave a chuckle. "I would like to know certain things. Who are these two that you travel with? Why is it that I can sense an aura of magic around you and yet you don't emit any of the energy that comes from aonis? Where is your mother? What are you doing out here? It seems that much has happened since… we parted ways."

"It is a long tale."

"Heh," Mark chuckled again. Kratos had always kept to himself, and now it seemed that he had grown even more isolated. He would not let him hide too much. "It is not good to dwell too much on the past, Kratos. To learn from it and to share it is beneficial, but to brood on it can lead to trouble. Besides, a long night like this is perfect for telling a long tale."

"I see your point. However, the same can be said about another matter, Mark. There is a lot that you have to tell as well. You emit the mana of a half-elf, and yet you look like a human. Your mana is also about half a decade younger than mine we seem to be the same age. You don't seem to have grown any older in all this time. And lastly, how are you alive? I believe that, too, is a long tale."

"Indeed. However, I wish to hear your story before I tell you mine."

* * *

Kratos picked his way down the hill toward Izoold. He could've descended without any trouble, but Mithos and Martel were unused to such travel and he did his best to find the easiest path for them to walk on. The rocks shifted and slipped away often, and though Martel seemed to have a very strong talent for healing, Kratos did not want her wasting too much mana on bruises and cuts caused by carelessness; she'd need her energy to heal them from the frequent monster attacks.

It seemed that the number of belligerent creatures roaming the land had began to multiply. Where Kratos had fought only a handful of monsters during a day's journey, now he had to face dozens of them. To add more onto the trouble, Mithos was too tired from his single-blow sparring match the day before and was unable to assist his master in any of the battles. Kratos himself was tired as well, having spent the entire night recounting his past few years to Mark, the only person who seemed not to be having any trouble.

Turning his attention back towards the task at hand, Kratos noticed that they would probably be entering the port town of Izoold before sunset. There, he planned on getting a ride on a ship to Palmacosta. Interestingly, Mark had tagged along saying that he was heading the same way. Kratos hadn't objected; it was nice to be with an old friend again, and besides, having an unexhausted double-bladed sword-wielder helped out greatly. The two Yggdrasill kids hadn't shown any hesitance at accepting him once Mark had been introduced to them. Mithos rather admired him for his strength and startlingly strong lightning magic. Martel, though normally talkative, seemed a little shy around him.

"Master Kratos," Mithos' weary voice broke into Kratos' reminiscences as the young apprenticed tried his best to run down towards his teacher. "Mr. Mark was wondering if it was time for him to switch positions with you."

"…" Kratos gave his silent assent as he slowly followed Mithos back. Mark took the lead and began to direct the group down the mountain as Kratos fell back and watched the rear of the traveling party. As the trek continued, the human once again fell lost into his thoughts of the past, trudging along, effortlessly slaughtering any monster that dared to come too close.

* * *

With a sigh, Kratos sat down on a crate and placed his sheathed Crystal Sword across his lap. He had been secretly fearing that he would get seasick, but he came to find the swaying of the boat he was on to be rather comforting. He leaned back against the side of the ship and looked straight up into the cloudless sky. He turned and stared to the east, with the sun's dying rays framing him from behind. Water rolled on for as he could see, a giant carpet of turquoise being shaken and flicked up and down by the tireless wind. A few seagulls roamed the sky, but they began to fall back as the ship sailed farther away from the coast. He sat there, not only enjoying the view but also keeping himself alert for any sight of people approaching.

Soon, as the last rays of light faded away, Mark walked up behind the swordsman. Sensing the half-elven mana with a very strong inclination towards electric, Kratos asked without turning around, "How is Martel?"

"She seems to have gotten a little bit better. Mithos is with her right now." Mark answered, coming beside his friend and staring out into the darkness with him. Unlike Kratos, Martel had been very excited about traveling by ship. She'd jumped up and down on the docks as if she was half her age until she accidentally knocked her brother off the pier. Seeing his anger when he came out soaking wet with his straw-colored hair plastered to his face had calmed her euphoria down somewhat; however, she was left laughing as he attempted an "Indignation" spell and fell over back into the sea again by slipping on the wet wood.

Her good mood didn't last; it changed just as the ship set out. She began feeling dizzy and nauseous, and soon, she was lying on a cot below-decks with a bucket beside her. Since she was sick, another healer had to be chosen to watch over her and help lessen her illness. Kratos, having only practiced his destructive magic and not healing, was unable to aid her very much. Mithos was in a similar position. Mark, however, seemed to excel at recovery mana. He wasn't near as good as Martel, but he wasn't as bad as Mithos or Kratos either. So he had been chosen to minister to her. Martel, however, tried very hard to fight against the idea. She seemed very troubled at the thought of having him keep watch over her. Because of this, Mark decided to leave her in her brother's care once he had performed a few of the stronger mending spells. This way, Mithos would also get some practice in using mana in a constructive fashion.

"I see Martel managed to get you to leave quite soon," Kratos commented, slightly shifting his eyes to observe the half-elf's reaction.

"It seems so," Mark replied, keeping his face empty.

"It would be better for her if she didn't resist your recovery mana. She normally isn't this timid around people."

"It is her choice."

"Either way," Kratos spoke, remembering an earlier conversation, "it is time you told me your story."

"I suppose it is," Mark murmured, pondering where to start his tale. However, before he could begin, a swishing sound cut through the silent night air, disrupting the rhythmic splashing of the waves. Sensing danger, Kratos and Mark both leapt in opposite directions as a spinning starfish crashed onto the deck between them. Before they could react, a green roper, a creature made of sponge with multiple vines sticking out of it, came up the side of the ship. Turning around, Kratos noticed an octoslime approaching from the opposite side of the ship.

"What is THAT?" Mark exclaimed, looking out at the sea. Following his gaze, Kratos found himself staring at a giant moving shape that proved to be indiscernible in the dark. All he could tell was that it would not be a good idea to pass the boat close to whatever it was.

Drawing his weapon, Kratos decided to head to the helm of the ship. His first priority was to inform the captain of the danger out at sea and get him to steer the ship clear of the large being. Mark took his double-blade and rushed for the door leading down to the hold of the ship. His task was to alert Mithos of the danger and to help protect the passengers aboard the ship.

Kratos spun on his toes and rushed across the wooden deck. A starfish appeared in front of him, flinging itself at him. He ducked under it as he passed through while he held his sword up, slicing it neatly in half. He brought his sword to point directly in front of him and charged it with lightning magic as he stabbed it deep into a green roper unleashing a "Lightning Blade" technique. Continuing his dash down the length of the ship, Kratos came to face an octoslime. The monster towered over him, being twice his size. As Kratos slashed at it, it used its hardened head to block the blow. Hopping back and out of the range of its tentacles, Kratos cast a "Thunder Blade" spell, spearing the monster with a strong charge of electricity. He continued his sprint as the shocked monster dissipated into wisps of mana.

As Kratos climbed up the ladder and came face to face with the captain, he found that the man had already noticed the danger in the sea and had adjusted the rudder in an attempt to avoid it. However, the large creature seemed to still be approaching. It was faster than they were.

"Kratos, what's going on?" Mark called out as he reemerged onto the deck of the ship. "Mithos and I have taken care of all the monsters down below. The boy's exhausted."

"No I'm not," Mithos' rasping voice barely reached Kratos. "I can still help with the monsters up here. I mean it, Master."

"We have to hurry, Mark, Mithos," Kratos ordered as he leapt down from the raised portion of the ship's fore. "There's no way we can avoid meeting with that large monster, so all we can do is make sure that there won't be any monsters on deck to distract us when it arrives."

Nodding, all three of them turned in slightly different directions and began chanting spells to clear the deck. However, a sudden splash alerted them as a giant tentacle rose out the sea right beside the ship. With a crash, it landed on the deck and wrapped itself around the ship, shaking it. It seemed that the creature hadn't been too far away.

"That's a kraken!" Mark uttered in awe, staring up at it. "The legendary sea monster!"

Kratos rushed forward, hacking at its tentacle with his Crystal Sword. Meanwhile, Mithos launched a "Spark Wave" spell at the monster itself. "Mark!" Kratos yelled, bringing the half-elf out of his reverie. However, before anyone could do anything, the kraken sent another tentacle out of the water, this time aimed at one of its assailants. With a scream, Mithos was pulled violently off the deck and dragged into the sea.

* * *

Wow... I'm finally done with this chapter... 

Sorry for the (very) long wait. I got really busy with college since the summer semester was coming to a close and had multiple projects, essays, and exams due. Now that I'm relatively free for a couple of weeks, I'll try my best to write a little more often.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry if it's not very good. I just got done with my last final so I'm feeling rather tired. I don't really know how good this chapter is since I just wrote it all in one go in an attempt to get the idea down. Make sure you review it and let me know how I did.

Also, once again, chapter names are most welcome, as is a better summary for my story. Give me whatever ideas you have, even if you don't think they're very good (I just might like them).


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Mithos gurgled as water entered his mouth and nose. He felt his senses fading away, yet his mind refused to give up. He knew that his sister was on this ship, and that if this monster wasn't stopped, her life would be in grave danger. With this thought, he opened his mouth to begin chanting another spell, despite the tentacle wrapped tightly around his ribs. 

No voice emerged from his throat. Instead, a stream of water came gushing in. The young boy berated himself for stupidly attempting to cast a spell underwater. As he finally gave up struggling, he noticed that as his arms relaxed, so too did the tentacle grabbing him. He used a sudden burst of energy as he pushed in a desperate attempt to break free, and to his surprise, he found the tentacle unwrapping easily. Quickly, Mithos swam to the surface, gulping down huge amounts of air and water both as he broke out of the ocean. Having regained his breath, he dazedly looked around.

The ship seemed to be in very bad shape with multiple holes poked through its hull. Most of the railing had been torn off of the deck. The only part of the ship still fully intact was it's metal skeleton. A lot of the wooden covering had been broken and thrown aside by the giant kraken. Swiftly floating away from the wreck were a bunch of small rowboats. He gazed, frozen in horror as one of the kraken's giant tentacles raised itself, ready to slam down and crush the tiny escapees. However, just before it struck, the tentacle jerked skyward and then fell to the ocean, limp. Mithos noticed a small figure with brown hair standing atop the stump that was all that remained of the tentacle before his own body was viciously dragged into the sea.

The half-elf struggled, violently flailing his arms in an attempt to swim aside. He had been pulled under not by the sea monster, but by a sudden shift in the water current. He knew what the cause was; the ship was passing by him, and he was too close to the mana-powered turbines that drove the vessel forward. An almost inaudible splash reached his ears as his strength began to wane. Closing his eyes, Mithos concentrated on the lessons Kratos had given him. He tensed himself, diverting his entire body's mana into the limbs that he would be using. His arms and legs were tired, but he closed his mind to all thoughts of fatigue. With great determination, he struck out, swimming away from the ever-growing current. His senses were blurred from being buffeted around in the ocean, and he could not even tell if he was headed away from danger or straight into it. Either way, he didn't have the time or the energy to check. His mana was running out and his mind was all but unconscious. He felt as if he was in a dream as he continued to swim out of sheer determination. His thoughts turned to his sister as he finally gave up. Martel… He hoped she was alright. His senses faded as a loud clanging sound rang somewhere in the back of his head.

* * *

Kratos leapt off of the severed tentacle and landed on the deck of the ship, only to fall through two levels lower as it crumbled under him. He quickly climbed back up and steadied himself on one of the metal beams that held the hull together. Mark appeared beside him, raising his double-blade into the cloud-covered sky and unleashing a "Spark Wave" upon the giant creature. 

"Where is Mithos?" Kratos inquired, his voice tinged ever-so-slightly with emotion. "I cut off the tentacle holding him, but I haven't seen him surface."

"He's right there," Mark allayed Kratos' fears, pointing down into the water adjacent to the ship. "He seems to be keeping himself afloat just fine. Those cowardly seamen don't seem to be having the same luck, though." Mark indifferently looked off to the escaping crew of the ship. The kraken was poised to strike at them. "Don't tell me you're…" Mark was cut off as Kratos jumped onto a nearby tentacle and raced toward the kraken, leaping onto its half-submerged head. From there, the swordsman leapt at his target, severing it in one slice and landing upon the writhing stump that remained.

He turned and saw Mithos silently floating beside the wrecked ship. Directly above him, Martel clung to the metal beam that Mark had left her on, telling her to wait for him. The double-saber wielding swordsman himself was currently standing on one of the last stable pieces of the deck, chanting the mighty "Indignation" spell. As Kratos held on for dear life while they kraken flung him around, he noticed that Mithos seemed to be getting too close to the ship's propellers. He cried out to Mark, trying to get his attention only to find that Mithos was already in the grip of the wildly flowing water and was already pulled under the half-wrecked ship.

As a last resort, Kratos sent off three blasts from a "Fireball" spell. The first ball of flame came straight at Mark, distracting him from his spell. The second was sent straight into the sky, catching his attention. The third came to a sizzling halt on the surface of the ocean, telling the half-elf where to go. Without a word, Mark rushed to the edge of the ship and jumped off, drawing his weapon as he splashed into the churning water.

Once he had entered the dark world beneath the water, he immediately noticed Mithos. The young boy was trying to swim against the current in an attempt to keep his life from being grated to a painful halt upon the spiraling propellers. Mark would rather not risk his own life, but from what Kratos had told him, this was Yersil's son, and he needed him to live. Without waiting for his mind to waver into hesitancy, Mark paddled his feet furiously, making his way towards the exact place Mithos was trying to escape. He used only one hand to swim, the other being occupied with holding onto the double-blade. Noticing the boy's pace dwindle, Mark put in more energy as he sped up. The current grabbed him and pulled him along as well. He saw Mithos' body go limp just as he jammed his long weapon between the propellers. One side of it stuck into the whirling blade on the starboard side of the ship while the other lodged itself and stopped the spinning blade on the port side. The turbines of the ship whined as they tried to force blades to start rotating again, but Mark's weapon was jammed in too hard. With a loud but muffled wrenching noise, the propellers broke and began to float away. The turbines began to groan louder and louder.

* * *

Kratos landed heavily upon the ship once again. He jumped through the holes and arrived beside Martel. The girl was leaning heavily against a long metal beam, still weak due to her affliction from the day before. Seeing that she wasn't in any immediate danger, Kratos raced along a different metal plank and jumped through an opening in the side of the ship, entering the fray once more. However, as he landed onto a wooden plank floating on the water, his attention was taken away from the kraken looming over him by a loud whining that came from behind him. He turned and noticed that the ship seemed to have lost its speed, and as it slowed down, it also rapidly sank. 

"Kratos!" Mark's cry reached the human's ear. "The ship's turbines have overloaded. They can't contain the mana for much longer!"

Grasping the full extent of what his friend was saying, Kratos immediately turned around and jumped back into the ship. He raced down along the metal shaft and came up along Martel. Wordlessly, he grabbed the girl and used a gaping fissure in the deck to jump out of. Looking around, he spotted a single rowboat left on the side of the ship. Hurriedly, he placed Martel in it and then turned around, looking for Mithos and Mark. He spotted the pair swimming quickly towards him, Mark holding onto the unconscious Mithos.

"Kratos, even if we try to use this rowboat, the kraken will kill us!" Mark yelled.

"It might decide to stay with the ship."

"No. It's after me, so it'll come to us and leave the ship alone. We have to do something about it."

Kratos was confused about why the kraken would target Mark, but he chose not to comment on his friend's words; he would trust him. Suddenly, he jumped back onto the ship, getting an inspirational idea.

"Mark, come on! Follow me."

Mark stared at the human. Why should he go back towards a giant and crazy sea monster that was just dieing to pound him into mush? However, he decided not to question Kratos' logic and followed suit, dropping Mithos into the rowboat and leaping back onto the sinking derelict. He came and stood beside the human.

Kratos was concentrating very hard on the ship's engines. They had been made with magitechnology and ran on mana. He used this fact to hold them with his own magic in order to delay their explosion.

"Mark, draw the kraken to us!" Kratos commanded.

"No need. It's already striking," the half-elf hysterically retorted. "Now we're dead! We should've tried escaping while we could."

"Divert its tentacles and get it to wrap around the ship."

"Oh," Mark was finally calming down as he began to grasp Kratos' plan. "I'll try."

With a dash, Mark raced ahead and raised his double saber. He jumped aside and slashed at the left side of the tentacle that was trying to smash them. Jerking away from the sudden pain, the giant creature whipped the ship beside the two warriors rather then on them. It grabbed hold and pulled itself closer as it prepared to strike again. Mark stood in front, confidence regained, and prepared to repeat the process.

Meanwhile, Kratos continued holding onto the engine's mana, barely able to keep it from blowing. As time went by, it became harder and harder for him. Worse, his own energy was running out. Knowing that he couldn't hold on for much longer, Kratos called for Mark to abandon ship. Both of them leapt off and landed in the rowboat as the kraken finally wrapped its sixth and last remaining tentacle around the broken and half-sunken derelict. They both turned around and set up their defenses; Kratos activated a "Guardian" technique while Mark used his "Force Field" spell.

* * *

A loud bang rang through the air as the ship came apart. Stray pieces of wood and metal soared through the air. Burning scraps rained down. Utter destruction and chaos ruled for a few seconds. Then, the air calmed down as the final ashes hit the water. Wood softly smouldered and was promptly drenched in brackish water. Everything that had flown so boldly into the sky now came back down to the ocean. Within a few moments everything was still. A certain creature, a giant kraken, slowly and painfully swam under the water. It's tentacles had all been seared off and a great scar marked its face. The one it sought for had escaped. It had not gotten the blue-haired half-elf that exuded the mana of Volt and absorbed the energy of Undine.

* * *

Finally done with another chapter. That didn't take too long (compared with my last one). I'll try and get another chapter out within a week, although I might take longer since I'm gonna be very busy this weekend. 

Anyway, read, enjoy, and review! Make sure to let me know how the chapter is, what you think can be improved, and even give me suggestions of what you think might happen next. I know how I want this fanfiction to go, but maybe I'll include your ideas as well. Also, once again, chapter names are most welcome. Even for those that already have a name, if you can come up with one that you think is better, send it. I'll take a look at it and see how I feel.

Until next chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia

* * *

Slowly, a small rowboat drifted on the current, guided only by the soft rowing of two oars. Mark stared up at the stars, rechecking his bearings and slightly changing the angle in which the vessel drifted among the smoldering wreckage all around him. Night had spread its mantle upon the world and only the swishing of the waves and the dull creaking of the oars broke the barrenness of the silence.

Kratos was asleep, tired from two consecutive days with no sleep followed by an intense battle against the deadly kraken. His breathing was soft and silent, barely reaching Mark's amplified hearing from behind him. In front of the half-elf slept Martel and Mithos. The young boy had regained consciousness and had then fallen into a deep sleep, his body snuggled comfortably against his dear sister's.

Mark brought his eyes down from the open sky, his gaze falling upon Martel, who slept in the front of the rowboat. He had been having a hard time keeping his eyes away since the time she had fallen asleep, mere seconds after arriving on the craft. Mithos was lying with his head on her shoulder, and one of her arms encircled him protectively. The other was lying across her lap. Her head was turned away to the side, as she had shyly moved it the moment Mark had taken his place in the center. A slight redness still tinged her usually pale cheeks even in her slumber. Mark stared at her calm figure, outlined in the night by the shimmering light of the stars. Her green hair seemed to glow with the serene energy of her mana.

Sleep. It was such a blessing that those three enjoyed. Mark felt jealous of them; he had been robbed of that gift six years ago. Though it allowed him to exert his body for hours on end without any sense of fatigue, it brought a different sort of weariness that was beginning to pull at his very soul. He pulled off the glove from his right hand and stared at the glistening crystal on the back of his palm. Its dark blue mount was bathed in a light red glow that it emitted. His eyes grew weary simply glancing at it, but Mark held his gaze for a long time before drawing it away. He pulled his glove back on, his fingers sticking out of the holes made for them and grabbed the oars once more. His eyes came up and rested once again on the face of Martel. The sight of the half-elven girl dispelled the lethargy that the crystal seemed to induce in him. Silently, Mark continued rowing.

* * *

Kratos shook his head groggily, irritated by the sudden brightness streaming into his sleepy eyes. Waking up a bit more, he fully opened his eyes with his head turned away from the rising sun. Once his eyes had begun to adjust to the light of day, he turned back to find Mark sitting facing him, rowing one of the oars. The other wooden stick was being sluggishly paddled by a sleepy Mithos, who sat with his back to Kratos. Martel was sitting at the front of the ship, eyes turned down towards the bottom of the boat. Her hands clenched her stomach as she tried her best to ignore the swaying of the rowboat.

"I see you've finally decided to join us, Kratos," Mark broke into a grin. "Now you can take Mithos' place and we can start going a bit faster."

Gingerly, Kratos and Mithos both rose and switched positions, careful not to unbalance the vessel. Having taken his seat, Kratos turned to Mark and asked what had been going on while he slept.

"Not much," Mark chuckled. "Mithos and Martel didn't wake up much earlier than you. Mithos asked that he be allowed to take one oar and help me out because it would help him strengthen his arms while Martel insisted that I turn around and face the other way 'in case something was behind us'."

"I see," Kratos replied, his mind finally roused from his deep sleep. "You mentioned yesterday that the monster we were attacked by was after you. What was that about, Mark?"

The half-elf bent his blue-haired head to the side and gazed pensively at the horizon. "I let that slip, didn't I? Well then, I suppose I do owe you a story. Besides, we don't have much else to do until we can reach the shore. I think we'll be hitting the sandy beaches north of Palmacosta."

Mark looked up at the pale sky for a long time before bringing his head back down. "It starts a long time back…

"I was born twenty-six years ago. My parents, I never knew. Yuan. I was called Yuan back then, for that was the name that my mother gave me. However, I was a half-elf, born into the kingdom of Sylvarant, and I was at the bottom of the caste system, along with all the others of my race. My mana was… unique. It was far more resilient than that of others. I could take wounds that would mortally injure grown men and survive when I was only a child. This, they used. The government of Sylvarant, led by the governor-general of Palmacosta decided that I could be useful to them.

"At that time, the Aonis-infused mages of Tethealla had just emerged. They wreaked utter annihilation upon the armies of Sylvarant. The government desperately needed something to counter the sudden change in power, and because of this, even the newborns in the nation were being observed for any abnormal abilities that could provide even a glimmer of hope. I was thus found and experimented upon.

"One of the scientists came up with an idea that branched off of the Tetheallan one concerning aonis. The stone contains the essence of every elemental spirit, and its injection delivers this mana into a person's blood flow. The scientist decided that instead of providing a warrior with every element, if only one was used, it would allow for much stronger magic, even if it would cancel out the use of any other element. He decided to utilize the openness of a person's mana at young ages and to infuse the essence of a summon spirit. I, because of my chances of survival, was chosen.

"The warriors of Tethealla were trained to resist the elements of Undine, Sylph, Efreet, and Luna because these were the spirits residing upon Sylvarant land, and it was their mana that was used in the production of weapons in that nation. However, the aonis mages were very vulnerable to the elements that their own kingdom held sway over. An expedition was sent into the Tetheallan temple closest to Sylvarant land: Volt's Temple of Lightning.

"Tethealla was not expecting such a bold attack from the retreating armies of Sylvarant and they were overwhelmed. For two days, the temple was occupied by Sylvarant, and in that time, I was constantly exposed to Volt's mana. The machines that Tethealla had set up to draw upon the spirit's powers were all rerouted to send all of that energy into me. Although I have few clear memories of that time period, I can often recall the searing pain that the process involved.

Here, Yuan stopped, turning again to face the sea. He faced away from Mithos and Kratos, not wanting the two to see the moisture rising in his eyes. Though she was adamantly staring at the floor of the boat in an effort to overcome her seasickness, Martel happened to glance up and noticed the forming tears mere seconds before they were blinked away.

"For the next four years, I was trained in the arts of war," Yuan continued his tale. "I was trained as an assassin, as an army commander, as a double-bladed swordsman, and as a magic-user. I was made to kill prisoners, and to watch others kill prisoners. I was emptied of all emotion other than the desire to kill. I was made into a tool of war.

"At the age of four, I was sent to my first battle. I didn't know the location. All I was told was to make sure that none of the Tetheallans survived. An army of two hundred warriors followed me, sent out to fight off an army of over a thousand aonis-infused mages. There was no equality in the match. My magic, as a half-elf, far overpowered that of the Tetheallans. On top of that, my infusion with Volt's mana allowed me to strike out with such force and power that I did not need any help from those sent with me. Alone, I killed every mage that had come to fight on that day.

"From then on, I was regularly sent to battle, often with only a handful of soldiers. The tide began to shift away from Tethealla and the war was even. However, the land of Kharlan, the center of the world, the location containing the most mana, was still neutral. Neither side could manage to conquer it, for the both were obstinate upon keeping each other out and would spare no amount of resources in doing so. Tethealla had come very close to taking the land and assuring its victory in the war, but all of its hopes had been snatched away.

"Sylvarant realized that it was still not strong enough to take over the holy grounds either, and in an attempt to keep itself safe in the case of a sudden change in the war, it entered into a treaty with Tethealla. Instead of trying to take over the Kharlan area, Sylvarant turned its attention to a different source of power.

"I was sent on a mission to the elven village of Heimdall. Because I was half-elf, Sylvarant knew that I would be looked down upon. They used the elves' discrimination to ascertain that I would be sorely underestimated. While a large army of the obsidian-covered knights attacked Ymir from outside, distracting the elves, I struck from the inside. My mission was to break into Torent Forest, locate the Flameberg and Vorpal Sword, and escape with the legendary blades. I managed to acquire the first, but the elves defended the second well enough to keep me away.

"From that moment on, Sylvarant had a true advantage in the war. They won almost every battle waged. For two years, they reigned supreme as their General Cruxis 'Odin' Aurion led the armies wielding the blade of flames. Tethealla fell all over, but somehow managed to hold onto every key point. They retained control over every one of their temples and did not allow even a single major city to be destroyed. Just when their defense was weakening, Seraphim Yggdrasill of Ozette developed the Key Crest. With this new invention, the exspheres that Tethealla had developed long ago were now usable. With them, they managed to regain much of the land they had lost.

"In response to the sudden surge in Tethealla's might, Sylvarant began to push for more research. In a stroke of luck, Triet's newly opened research center developed an improved version of the exsphere. However, because its creation had been unintended, the process hadn't been noted down; only one such crystalline battle enhancer was made. In order to assure its safety as it was sent to Cruxis Aurion in Iselia, I was chosen to carry it.

"It was fifteen years ago when I arrived," Yuan paused and turned to Kratos. When next he spoke, it was directly to the human. "Kratos, you were only six at the time, and because of the object I brought, your father died. From then, I traveled with the Iselian refugees. I saw the pain that you bore, and the effort that you put into making sure that your mother did not meet a similar fate. You awoke emotions in me, emotions that I had never felt. When we arrived in Triet, I decided to keep my identity hidden from the government. I would not allow myself to be used as a mindless killer. You fought too, but you did so to protect those close to you. I decided to do the same.

Looking off to the horizon again, Yuan continued his story. "When you left for Heimdall, I chose to follow you. I felt responsible for your father's death and decided that by helping save your mother, I would be atoning for the pain I caused you. When we arrived at Ymir, you saw me struck down by one of the Sylvarant soldiers. Because of my ability to use magic, I managed to heal myself enough to live. However, the wound was very deep, and I fainted.

"When I came to consciousness again I was in Palmacosta, in the research facility. The Sylvarant government had recognized me and wanted me to continue fighting for them. However, I refused to do so, and I was locked up in prison for two years. During that time, Sylvarant had managed to develop another Cruxis Crystal, adopting the name that Tethealla had given to the advanced crystalline battle enhancers. They managed to also form a key crest, though it was a flawed one.

"The way a key crest works is by controlling the flow of mana that goes from a person's body into an exsphere or a Cruxis Crystal. This means that it has to equally control the flow of mana of every element. The ore that Tethealla uses is inhibitor ore, which can cut down equally on mana of each of the eight types. The one that Sylvarant had developed was flawed because it used too much of Volt's mana and did not absorb enough of Undine's mana from the body. To make up for the lack of water mana received and to counter the excessive electric mana, the Cruxis Crystal mounted upon this key crest would absorb water mana from the area surrounding it.

"My body already has an excess of electric mana and a deficiency of water mana, so it seemed to be a perfect match for me. The scientists of the Palmacosta research labs managed to convince the army to allow them to use me as a subject for their experiments. They equipped me with the Cruxis Crystal and the key crest.

"The power that I had before had been very strong. The power that I now felt was overwhelming. The experiment was a success. However, the scientists had failed to realize that I could use my newfound strength to escape, and that was just what I did.

"Once I had gotten out, I set sail for Izoold so that I could reach Heimdall and see what had happened to you. At sea, I was attacked by many monsters, and because of my presence, the ship I was on sank. It had not been long since we had left the harbor, and I managed to swim back to shore. I could feel that the assault at sea had been caused because my key crest absorbed the mana from the sea, and I decided to head to the elven village by land.

"On my journey, I had to pass the Hakonesia mountains, and there, I met a small group of elves that did not despise humans or half-elves. Their elder was very wise, and I came to trust him in the small amount of time that I spent there. He realized my predicament simply by feeling my mana and offered me a solution. He said that I should seek out Yersil Yggdrasill, a summoner. If I could get him to form a pact with Undine, he could infuse my key crest with enough water mana to cancel out the abnormality. He told me that he had heard of Yersil traveling back to his home in the elven village of Heimdall, and so I continued my journey.

"As I arrived close to Heimdall, I heard rumors of the death of the Yggdrasill family at the hands of Mystar Wilder. It was around that time when I ran into you and was relived to find that Yersil's son was alive. The reason I did not object to traveling by ship was that the bridge between Altimira and Hima was destroyed after I crossed over it, and the only path to Palmacosta was by crossing the sea. I tried my best to cloak my mana signature, but it seems that it was still felt by the creatures of the sea. I never imagined that the kraken itself would come to defend Undine's domain."

Yuan stopped and turned down, his eyes shadowed by the azure hair cascading down the side of his face. The sun was no longer peaking over the horizon; it was now shining down from the directly above. Yuan looked up and gazed at Kratos. "Those are the answers that I promised you to the questions you asked two nights ago. That is the story of all that has happened to me."

* * *

I noticed that a lot of people think that the previous two chapter's were very similar to Pirates of the Carribean 2. I want to tell everyone that I wrote and posted both chapters before I saw the movie. I just got to see it a couple of days ago, and now I see why the two seemed so similar to people. Well... all I can say is that it's just a coincidence.

Anyway, Mark's identity is revealed. This chapter contains a lot of information, and I don't know if I presented it in a very entertaining way. I'm not very good at having characters reveal things, so I'm not sure how good this chapter really is. Make sure to review and let me know how well (or not so well) I did.

I don't know if I'll be able to finish the next chapter by Sunday or not, but if it isn't up by Monday, it's probably going to take another four months since my college is going to be keeping me VERY busy (8 hours of classes a day -- and that doesn't have homework included).


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Martel stared at the half-elf sitting in front of her. Yuan, with his back to the young maiden, was silently rowing. Night had fallen again, and while everyone else slept, he would row. He could not sleep. His Cruxis Crystal would not allow his body to rest. He would not tire, he had said, because the Cruxis Crystal supplied him with energy when he needed it. He did not need sleep.

"Yuan…" The name silently escaped Martel's lips as her heart felt sympathy. It may be true that he would not tire, but no matter how much energy the Cruxis Crystal supplied him, it would only provide it to his body, and not to his mind and soul. He would tire internally, and without the ability to rest, he would never recover.

Having heard the soft whisper, Yuan turned around and caught sight of Martel's face downcast with sadness. Her eyes were moist. "Martel… is something wrong?" he inquired, worried.

Martel gasped, surprised that he had noticed. She turned her face away shyly. "No. Everything's okay."

"If you say so…" Slowly, Yuan turned his face around and resumed rowing.

"Um… Yuan?"

"Yes."

"You say that the Cruxis Crystal gives you energy and keeps you rejuvenated, but your mana seems thin and tired."

"You can sense that? I hoped I could keep it hidden…"

"I don't think that most people would have noticed it. Kratos tells me that my abilities with mana are very strong. I didn't find out until you told your story to us. I had to spend some time examining before I sensed past the mana curtain around you."

"You spent time examining my mana?" Yuan asked, slightly amazed and also a little delighted that she had taken such an action.

"Umm…" Martel turned her face away again, a crimson flush invading her cheeks. "Sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to apologize for it. I simply wasn't expecting anyone to put in the effort to look past the shroud I had set up."

"I'm not the only person…" Martel softly replied.

"You're not?" Yuan was shocked. Who else would? Surely it wasn't Mithos. The young boy didn't seem to pay Yuan much attention.

"Kratos knows too. He's been aware longer than I have." Martel asked Yuan's unanswered question. "You're his closest friend and perhaps only friend. He worries and cares about you."

Yes, Yuan thought. Kratos would worry. He didn't seem to show it much, but he was a rather caring person. His friendship was one that Yuan valued since it was something that Kratos did not usually give to many.

"Yuan?" Martel called out tentatively.

"Yes, Martel? What is it?" Yuan asked, his thoughts broken.

"I know you can't sleep like the rest of us… but you could at least get some rest."

"I don't need…" Yuan began, but then he changed his mind and decided to accept the offer. "Okay, I'll rest."

Yuan lay down the oars and stopped rowing. He turned and leaned against the side of the small boat, turning his eyes up towards the stars. He was grateful for Martel's offer. Although his body did not tire, doing something repetitive over and over had a very tiring effect on his mind. He closed his eyes and relaxed himself. It was okay to not row for a night; they would be arriving at shore soon enough.

* * *

Kratos stood at the front of the boat, his sword drawn, a magical sphere of electric charged in his hand. Yuan was sitting in the center, rowing both oars. Mithos stood quietly at the back of the boat, both hands containing glowing spheres of electricity. Martel was standing between Mithos and Yuan, her staff held in both hands, an orb of white energy coalescing on the top.

Four archers stood on shore, waiting for the approaching boat to come within their range again. The boat had come out of nowhere, sailing over the horizon, heading straight for land. They were rouges; they lived off of attacking travelers and taking their equipment. As the boat swerved closer to the beach, they all notched arrows on their bows and fired.

Kratos swept his sword up and knocked one of the arrows out of its path into the sea. Mithos released one of the energy orbs from his hands and a bolt of lightning fried a second arrow. The other two hadn't been aimed well and landed in the water. As Yuan rowed the boat in closer, Kratos released his magic spell at the same time that Mithos did. Two blades of electrically charged swords slammed into the ground from the sky above two of the attacking archers. One of them managed to jump to the side and only took the blow from the electric shockwave while the other received the full impact of the "Thunder Blade" spell and died on the spot.

Yuan put a little force behind his rowing and managed to get the boat close to shore before the archers launched another volley of arrows. Kratos, Mithos, Yuan, and Martel jumped off the ship and onto the land and began to rush towards their opponents. The archers launched their arrows just as Mithos, the foremost in the attacking group, arrived at their position. Two arrows buried themselves in his arm as the third flew past him. Kratos lifted his shield and deflected the stray arrow. Then, he pulled out his sword from behind the shield and jumped in front of his injured apprentice, slaying one of the archers with a swift "hurricane thrust". Yuan arrived as well, whirling his double-blade in two wide arcs, cutting through the remaining archers.

Kratos sheathed his sword and turned to take a look at Mithos. The boy was sitting on the ground, wincing gingerly as pain shot through his arm. Martel arrived as well, her staff glowing brightly. She bent it forward and touched Mithos' injuries with the orb at the tip of her Ruby Wand. The mana from her "First Aid" spell flowed from her weapon to her brother's arm, pulling the arrows out and cleanly closing the wounds behind them.

"Mithos," Kratos began, only to be interrupted by the boy.

"You need to be more patient," Mithos broke in, mimicking Kratos' voice with a touch of annoyance. "Watch your foe and anticipate his move before rushing in. Blind attacks will accomplish nothing more than to get you injured." He switched back to his own voice. "I know, I know. You always say the same things. I've got your lectures memorized, Master."

"And yet you still haven't been able to follow them," Kratos retorted silently. "Mithos, you have the abilities to be a great warrior, but you must remember to control your impatience and your anger. If you do not, then they will lead to your downfall."

Mithos nodded sullenly. He did not believe Kratos' warning; anger only served to strengthen him, so how could it possibly lead to his downfall? However, despite not accepting Kratos' philosophy, Mithos did respect the human. Kratos had earned the trust of the elves and was a very strong swordsman. His skill, Mithos had heard some of the elves say, surpassed even that of his father, General Cruxis "Odin" Aurion. Mithos, wanting to become not only the best magic-user but also the best swordsman, would have to train under him, and thus, he would put up with the lectures.

Silently, Mithos rose from the ground and walked off. Their supplies were running out, so they would have to find Palmacosta soon. From what Yuan had told them, the city was close by, and Mithos decided not to waste any time getting there.

"Hurry up, everyone," he called back when he saw they weren't following. "We need to get to Palmacosta, and the sooner we set out towards it, the better."

"And I believe that heading straight towards it instead of going around the world to get to it would also be better, Mithos," Yuan retorted, turning around and walking in the opposite direction from the young half-elf. Mithos reddened and turned around. Kratos gave a small smile before turning and following his friend. Martel giggled as she followed Yuan as well. Mithos, hearing his sister laugh at him, got angry at Yuan, but he bottled the anger in and took off behind the half-elf as well.

* * *

The sun lowered down, fast approaching the horizon. Yuan sat with his back against a tree, his eyes gazing blankly at the sky. Martel was sitting on the grass a little distance away from Yuan, hugging her knees to herself, her Ruby Wand lying on the floor in front of her.

Kratos stood in front of Mithos with his Crystal Sword in his hand. The half-elf had his Ether Sword sheathed and had both hands facing the human. He let loose with a "Thunder Blade" spell. Kratos dashed forward, stopping just outside the reach of the attack and struck Mithos with a quick "Aqua Edge". The half-elf attempted to retaliate with a "Prism Sword" spell, but Kratos cancelled his incantation by striking him with "Fire Ball". Mithos dashed forward and slashed horizontally with his weapon only to have Kratos leap over him, landing directly behind him. The boy spun around, sword held straight out, slicing through the air with great speed. However, Kratos was faster still, he took a short hop and landed just outside the boy's reach. As Mithos' strike failed, Kratos landed a clean hit on him with a "Spread" spell. The boy was sent spiraling into the air, soaked through by the rough water.

Mithos stood up the second he landed on the floor again, rage filling his eyes. Kratos was fighting only with magic while he was allowed to use both, a sword and magic, and yet the human was defeating him. Despite his weaker spells, Kratos seemed to be able to do far greater damage. Mithos decided to show Kratos how water spells should be used and began the incantation for a "Tidal Wave" only to have it cut short by a "Stone Blast". Enraged, he spread his hands out on both sides, dropping his Ether Sword. He closed his eyes, emptying all thoughts from his mind. A purple symbol appeared on the floor below him.

"I call upon thee in the land of the dead," Mithos began chanting. "Unleash thy fury of thunder, Indignation!"

A large dome of electrical energy appeared around Kratos, a single orb of condensed energy rising from the center. The human lazily walked out of the spells area, turning back and watching as a tremendous burst of thunder tore through the inside of the dome. He turned back to Mithos and struck the boy with a "Stone Blast".

"Sheer power is not always the answer, Mithos," Kratos chided his pupil. "A strong spell is very useful, but only when used at the proper time."

Mithos' anger grew even more and he lashed out with his sword, stabbing straight at the human. Kratos neatly sidestepped the blow, causing the boy to loose his balance and fall to the floor. While Mithos tried tiredly to get back up, Kratos began chanting a spell of his own. Just as the half-elf rose up, a sphere of green wind blades formed around him and tore through him. He felt pain pierce through his entire body as the "Air Thrust" spell ripped through him. As the spell ended, his body fell to the floor, exhausted.

"Mithos," Kratos spoke to the young boy as he turned and headed to a nearby tree to sit against, "if you are to ever defeat me, you must first learn to get past your rage. You will be much stronger if you fight with a level head."

* * *

It's been a very long time, hasn't it? Well... i'm finally able to post again, and I would've done so sooner if the internet was working better...

Anyway, be sure to review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Again, if anyone has any names to suggest for this or any other unnamed chapter, then those suggestions will be appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters contained therein.

* * *

"Fish?" Kratos Aurion inquired.

"Thunder," Mithos replied.

"Woods Worm?" came the next question.

"Ice, I think," answered Mithos.

"Yup, it's ice," Martel reassured him.

Yuan looked back at hearing Martel's voice. He was leading the group onward towards Palmacosta while the rest of them were following behind. Kratos had decided to quiz Mithos on the weaknesses of the enemies in the nearby area in order to make the boy a more efficient magic-user. After awhile, Martel had decided to listen in and help check Mithos' answers using a notebook that she'd had Mithos compile for her about the abilities of any monsters they encountered.

"Archer?" Kratos queried, the shadow of a smile playing across his lips.

"Thunder?" Mithos answered, unsure.

"Wrong," Martel informed her brother with a wide smile as she watched her brother get struck by a "Lightning" spell from Kratos as punishment for his incorrect answer. "Try again, Mithos," she encouraged the boy, patting down his standing hair.

"Is it fire?" Mithos tried, still unsure. "No, wait! They don't have a weakness, do they?"

"Nope," Martel patted her brother on his back, "they don't."

"Grasshopper?" Kratos continued on with his testing.

"Fire," Mithos answered almost immediately. "Oh, and Ice, too."

"You're still forgetting one," Martel giggled. "Yay! I get to see your hair standing up again," she cheered.

"And Thunder!" Mithos hastily added, catching the clue that his sister had given him.

"…" Kratos considered whether to accept Mithos' answer. He decided that he'd let the boy go and continued on: "Sea Jelly?"

Yuan turned back to face forward. He smiled and continued walking. It wouldn't take long now. The sun was nearly down, and judging by what he remembered of the land from when he last crossed over it, Yuan figured that they'd arrive at Palmacosta sometime near noon if they spent the entire night camping. He took a peek into the pack he carried, then multiplied the supplies he found in there by three, since Kratos' pack was the same size and Mithos and Martel both carried half-sized packs. They could easily afford to rest for the night, he decided.

* * *

_Mithos stood in front of a large pane of glass. The floor beneath his feet was made of gold, as was the entire tower that he stood on the topmost floor of. He looked down from the tall window he stood before and stared down at a view of the vast world spread below him._

_It was his. The thought filled his head and overwhelmed him. He stood higher than anyone else. There was no one to stand up to him. He owned it all. The whole world was his. He looked at his own shadowed reflection in the window and saw that his body had changed. No longer did he wear his old tattered white shirt and green trousers; now he wore a long, regal white suit that covered his body. His hair wasn't a messy pile of straw that was always sticking at odd angles due to being shocked too often; now it cascaded down as a sheet of gold._

_Mithos smiled and turned around. His face softened and his smile became sincere. There, standing before him was his sister. He had everything he could possibly want._

_Then, everything before him began to fade. He panicked and reached out, trying to grab onto his sister. However, before he could reach her, she seemed to fade back, away from him. A green aura appeared around her, forming in the shape of a semi-blossoming flower. Mithos stared in horror as the last remaining person from his family seemed to leave him. A silent scream tore from his throat as he lunged forward, reaching out with his right arm. Then suddenly, everything went black._

Mithos gasped in air. He was breathing heavily and sweat soaked his face. He was sitting up with his hand stretched out in front of him. He slowly let his hand fall to his side. He looked around and found that everything was okay. He was sitting in his tent where he had been since the start of the night. His sister was sleeping soundly at the other side of the tent. He wiped his face with his hand and slowly lay back down.

D+

Kratos stood outside of the Yggdrasill siblings' tent. He was about to rush in when Mithos' screaming suddenly stopped and was replaced by shallow breathing. He stopped himself and stood still, just outside the opening. Soon, the half-elf's breathing deepened as he relaxed.

"Only a nightmare," Yuan commented.

"Yes," Kratos replied. "It seems that was all that it was."

"I'm surprised Martel didn't wake up."

"She's a very heavy sleeper."

"I see." After a short silence, Yuan spoke again while walking away from the siblings' tent. "Kratos, how about a little sparring match between us right now?"

"…" Kratos turned and stared at his friend.

"It's been awhile since we traveled together. You've gotten stronger. I want to see how much."

"Very well, then."

The human and half-elf walked away from the tents. Kratos stopped once they were out of hearing distance while Yuan walked on a little further before turning around to face his friend. He pulled his double-sword off of his back as Kratos drew his Crystal sword out of its sheathe. They held their weapons loosely, both staring at each other, prepared.

* * *

Mithos silently sat back up as he heard noises outside his tent. He peeked out of his tent and noticed Kratos and Yuan walking away together. He watched as they drew their weapons and faced each other.

Kratos rushed forward and struck first. He ran at Yuan with his sword held overhead and brought it slamming down as he arrived at him only to have it meet with one side of the double-saber. Yuan let Kratos' strike hit through his weapon, using the downward force on one side to aid in quickly raising the other up to slash at the human's neck.

Kratos jumped back and then quickly darted forward, stabbing with a "Super Lightning Blade" attack. Yuan blocked the Crystal sword with one side of his weapon and stuck the other side in the air, catching the falling bolt of lightning and absorbing it through his hand. He jumped back and began chanting as a purple symbol appeared around his feet.

Seeing the half-elf start a spell, Kratos struck his sword at the ground and struck up a wave of energy using his "Demon Fang" technique. Yuan bent forward from the force of the blow as his spell was broken.

Yuan and Kratos both stood facing each other, slowly circling.

"Good, Kratos. You managed to get the first hit. Let's see who gets the second!" Yuan rushed in and stabbed forward with his double-blade. Kratos sidestepped and slashed sideways with his sword. Yuan ducked under the slash and spun his own weapon only to have it blocked by Kratos' shield. The human took advantage of his friend's mistake and slashed down with his own weapon. Yuan quickly rolled to the side and stood up. With speed rivaling that of his favorite element, he stabbed forward and struck through Kratos, scoring a clean hit. As the human doubled up in pain, Yuan spun around, slicing through him twice using both blades of his weapon.

Kratos fell forward, pain firing through his body. He lay on the floor, chanting a quick spell. A white circle flashed around him and a soothing energy filled his body as he completed the "First Aid" spell. He stood up and faced Yuan again.

The half-elf began chanting and a purple field appeared around him. Kratos ran at him and slashed diagonally. However, just before Kratos managed to get his blow to connect, Yuan managed to cause an electrified sword to pierce through the human with his "Thunder Blade" spell.

Standing up, Kratos shrugged off a few stray sparks of electricity that ran across his body and began to chant a spell of his own. Yuan followed his lead and began chanting as well. A blue circular symbol appeared beneath Kratos while a purple one appeared beneath Yuan.

Kratos had decided to choose a quick, low-level spell, and soon, he unleashed an "Aqua Edge." However, despite the fact that his spell was of the intermediate level, Yuan managed to call forth a "Thunder Blade" at the same exact time.

After being struck through with the giant sword, Kratos forced himself to ignore the pain and stand up again before his opponent could strike again. He found himself staring at Yuan's double-blade sitting with its tip between his eyes.

"Not bad, Kratos," Yuan chuckled, "but you're not at the same level as me."

"Indeed," Kratos responded, sheathing his Crystal Sword. He stood and chanted a "First Aid" spell as Yuan put away his own weapon.

Quietly, both of them returned to camp. Yuan went back to his post and resumed his duty as watchman while Kratos headed off to his tent. Mithos had snuck back into his tent and was nearly asleep. Entering his tent, Kratos dug through his pack and took out three crystals that he had received from Seraphim. He stared at them. Cruxis Crystals. He had heard how much these crystals enhanced one's performance in battle, but now he had witnessed it firsthand. He had seen how Yuan fought in the past, and if he had tested his strength against that Yuan, he was sure he would have won. However, the Yuan he fought now had utterly defeated him. Furthermore, he could sense from the way the half-elf had fought, that he had been suppressing all but a fraction of his powers.

Kratos stared deeply into the crystal. It seemed to glow with its strength and also with… loneliness, Kratos noted with surprise. He gently placed them back into his bag and lay down on his back. He stared up at the roof of his tent. Cruxis Crystals. With them filling his thoughts, Kratos fell into sleep.

* * *

Finally done with another chapter!! Well, I know it's a little short, and it did take a lot of time, but hey, at least I got done with it!

Anyway, please review. Once again, chapter names will be appreciated. It looks like I'm lacking quite a few at the moment. Also, please let me know what you think of the Kratos/Yuan battle. I had a pretty hard time managing that and I'm not sure if I did it right. I tried to give a good idea of the superiority that Yuan acheived due to his Cruxis Crystal while also maintaining the suppressing of his abilities.

Well... I hope you enjoyed.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters contained therein.

* * *

Kratos rose up slowly. His entire body registered a dull, throbbing pain. He sat and twisted around, stretching his body and loosening his sore muscles. The sparring match with Yuan had tired him far more than he'd thought. Looking out the tent flap, he noticed that the sun had already risen and that his companions were already up and preparing to leave. He himself stuffed his few belongings into his pack, stuck his Crystal Sword into his sheath, and stepped out of his tent, wiping his eyes sleepily. Seeing him emerge, Yuan came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Kratos," he greeted. "How're you feeling?"

"Sore," he replied.

"Don't worry; you should be feeling fine by tomorrow. I'll take most of your share for any battles we run into today so you don't have to exert yourself." With that, Yuan turned and left to go help Martel take down her tent while her brother prepared their packs.

Kratos watched the blue-haired half-elf. A small, rare smile crept onto the human's face. He hadn't known Yuan for very long, and he hadn't even really known Mark for a long time either, but he felt a close bond with him. There was a friendship between them that he found himself amazed with.

Turning around, Kratos took down his own tent and quickly stuffed it into his pack. He walked forward a bit and crested the top of a small hill. On the other side he could see a few flying machines – Rheairds, he recalled his father having called them – heading towards a city lying on the horizon. Palmacosta was close now.

He turned around quietly and found his three companions walking towards him. They came and stopped facing him.

"We'll be arriving at Palmacosta today," Kratos announced. "At first, I had thought that we would enter and I would present myself to the Sylvarant government as the son of 'Odin' Cruxis and get help from them to find a place to stay. However, Yuan would be easily recognized, placing his safety in danger."

"So what?" Mithos cut in. "If they're hostile to us, we can just beat them all up. We're strong."

"Yes," Kratos replied, patient but annoyed, "but we're only four people. Also, they're equipment will be far stronger than ours. Your magic would barely touch them through their standard obsidian armor, Mithos."

"Oh… right," the young boy quietly accepted. "So what do we do?"

"That's what I'd like to get ideas on," Kratos replied. "Yuan?"

"I believe that once we enter the city, you can wait while I obtain information on where the spirit Undine is kept. Once I find out, I will leave. At that point, you are free to get whatever help the government will offer you."

"You'll need Mithos to handle the summoning."

"Yes. However, he would be safer with you. I know from my experiences with the government's magi technology that they magically imprison each spirit in a ring that contains its essence. Once I have that ring, I can bring it to Mithos, and we can free the spirit and then bind it into a summoner's contract."

"I see."

Kratos stood silently for a time, then turned and questioned Martel, "Do you have any ideas?"

"No," she replied. "That seems fine… although it might be better if we were all to go after the spirit together. I know Yuan's strong, but I still think it would be safer if we were to travel as a group." Thinking for a second, she softly giggled and added, "And his healing is weak."

Kratos smirked, Mithos grinned, and Yuan's face obtained a few tinges of red. "I can handle my healing," he muttered back.

"Despite that," Kratos spoke, bringing the group back to the serious situation, "I think we should stay as a group. We'll all split up and look for information in Palmacosta, and then, once we find out, we'll leave for Undine together."

Having decided their course of action, the four travelers walked down the hill and proceeded towards their destination.

* * *

_Kratos stood up and shrugged off a few stray sparks of electricity that ran across his body and began to chant a quick "Aqua Edge" spell. Yuan imitated him and began chanting a spell as well, though his was a "Thunder Blade". A blue circular symbol appeared beneath Kratos while a purple one appeared beneath Yuan at the exact same time. The intermediate level spell activated and struck Kratos, draining him of most of his energy while Yuan was unfazed by the elementary spell._

The memory of his battle from the past night kept on coming back to Kratos, haunting his mind. The sheer power that Yuan had displayed enticed Kratos. He needed that strength.

_Fires raged all around Kratos. He fled, arms flailing, crying. His village, his home, was burning. Mages were rushing out of the forest and sending destructive spells flying everywhere. He ran, tripping and falling, seeking his mother. His own friends fell before him, no older than his own 6-year-old self._

Images of what he had left behind in Iselia haunted him. He hadn't been in the village when it was attacked, but seeing it go up in flames, knowing that there were many people that had been left behind had been even more painful. His father was a great warrior and had always been there to protect those around him, but Kratos had fled. If he had been more powerful, this wouldn't have happened.

_A powerful mage unleashed his spell. As one, Kratos and Lersil dashed forward, seizing their weapons. Both stood and placed their right feet forward. In complete synchronization, they unleashed a tenth of their mana into their swords. A green "guardian" field appeared around them just as the first of the area strikes landed. Kratos pulled through the impact of the blow. He was ready to release his spell when the rock embedded in the ground at his feet exploded. By sheer luck, he survived._

_Beside him, Lersil did not share the same luck. He had been tired from his fight before Kratos had arrived. When the meteor had impacted, his mana ran out, leaving him defenseless for the following explosion. He flew backwards, slamming into a tree trunk and slumping to the grass, blood covering the back of his head._

Lersil's death came back to Kratos. Again, he had been too weak. If he'd have been stronger, Mithos and Martel's father would still be alive. It was his weakness that had caused his death, and with the Cruxis Crystals, he would no longer be weak like he had been.

_Mystar, sensing danger, moved forward. He realized that he had been betrayed as he felt not only a sword cutting through his back, but also a rod deflecting his sword and stabbing him in the ribs. In utter rage and pain, he swung his sword around, using a "super lightning blade" technique to charge it with mana. The desperate attempt struck through Seraphim Yggdrasill, slicing through her and heading for Kratos._

Not only the father of the half-elf siblings, but also their mother had been slain in front of the human. If only he had been stronger…

_With a sudden leap, Maria Aurion picked up the Crystal Rod lying at her feet and jammed it hard against the back of Mystar's head. With his head reeling, Mystar Wilder spun around and jumped back. With a sudden spurt of energy, he used a "spark wave" spell on Maria. As his mother writhed in pain, Kratos struck out wrathfully with his Silver Sword. However, before his sword could touch Mystar, the Tetheallan had faded away in a shower of thin beams of mana._

Even Kratos' own mother had died before his own eyes. All those memories haunted him. The crystals lying in his pack seemed to be calling him. Their power would help him, making him stronger. They would save lives. With them, he could easily protect those close to him, those that had mattered to him. His mother would still be with him. His village would still be standing. Silently, burdened with pain, Kratos walked on.

* * *

Mithos, Martel, Kratos, and Yuan arrived at the gates to Palmacosta around noon. Most of the cities in the world had security due to the ever-present threats brought on by the war. However, Palmacosta, among a few others, was an open trading city, and thus the checking was much lighter. 

The four companions seamlessly merged into the flow of millions of people coming and going from the city. They passed through the arch marking the start of the port eventlessly and then headed together towards the inn. Once there, they entered and booked a room where they would return to at night once they had searched around. Martel stayed behind with Kratos as he payed the innkeeper while Mithos and Yuan left and began their search for information. They would go to the piers while Kratos and Martel would head towards the government area.

Once the transaction was completed, Kratos stepped outside with Martel beside him. As they began walking through the city, Kratos turned and took a look at his companion. She noticed him looking and turned around to face him.

"Kratos?" she questioned, curious.

The human simply placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her, gently pushing her into a shop they were passing by. He followed her in, then walked past and headed straight for a rack holding many hats. He picked up a large, wide-brimmed hat and placed it on top of Martel's head. She stared at him strangely as it fell half-way past her ears. Satisfied, Kratos pushed her forward, showing the shopkeeper his purchase, and placed a few gald on the counter to pay. The shopkeeper took the payment, thanked him, then turned around to arrange her wares on a shelf while Kratos exited the shop with a confused Martel beside him.

"Kratos?" she queried, completely lost.

"Yours ears need to be covered," the human calmly replied, leading her ahead.

"Oh…" Martel realized as she was reminded of the discrimination common around the world.

Silently, the human and half-elf merged into the crowd and flowed with it towards the government buildings, listening intently for any information on the location of Undine. They walked around for hours, seeking information. They stopped and asked questions when Kratos deemed it safe, resorting to simply listening when he felt it was dangerous. By the time the sun hit the horizon, they had learned that Undine's power was used to run most of the government systems in the system. However, the spirit was not held within the city itself, but on an island city somewhere else. It's mana was transferred via a set of underwater energy lines called the Thoda Pipes.

Having learned enough, Kratos headed to a government powered computer access terminal located in a deserted alleyway. Martel stood beside him and watched as he logged into the system using his father's identification codes. He initiated a search for Thoda and then turned to Martel. He warned her that since he had logged into the system, the humans at the central system would notice and that it was only a matter of time before they would come here to see who had activated his dead father's. He turned back and typed away quickly at the terminal. Martel reached out with her mana and weaved her senses through the nearby streets, searching for any mana signitures heading their way.

Kratos looked up, triumphant just as Martel let out a gasp.

"I've got the coordinates for their Thoda Research Base," Kratos announced just as Martel let out a startled, "someone's coming!"

Kratos drew his Crystal Sword and stabbed it into the computer, destroying the machine. Martel, surprised, stared at him and was suddenly brought back to her senses as the human grabbed her hand and pulled her through a side alley. Using his own magic as well as Martel's superior senses, Kratos wove through the deserted streets, avoiding the government soldiers searching for the terminal-user. Soon, they arrived at the crowded streets and quickly melded into the crowd, heading back towards their inn.

Within minutes, the two arrived at the door to the inn only to find utter chaos raging around them. People rushed everywhere as they tried to get out of the way of a horde of soldiers approaching from the pier side of the city. Right in front of the group of obsidian-covered warriors were Mithos and Yuan, running at full speed.

* * *

Finally done with that chapter. It took awhile. Sorry for the delay. I've been really busy and I'll only be getting even busier, so updates will be slowing down significantly. I'll still be continuing this story, but it might take a long time before I get chapters up.

Well... I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, chapter name suggestions will be appreciated for any chapter that doesn't already have one, or even those that already do.

Don't forget to review!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters contained therein.

* * *

Kratos stood still in the middle of the street with Martel half-hidden behind him, as people flowed past them. The human stared ahead at the sight of Mithos and Yuan racing towards him with a whole legion of Sylvarant soldiers and law enforcement officials on their trail. His mind raced with disbelief; what could they have possibly done to warrant getting half the officials in the city chasing after them? 

He quickly brought himself out of his stunned state and whirled about, staring around him and sizing up their situation. Mithos and Yuan were still a ways off, towards the piers, and the group chasing them was farther still. The inn they had rented was just one building farther ahead of him. People were running quickly and chaotically towards the inner city. Martel was standing right behind him, staring in shock. Looking back towards the two half-elves, Kratos noted that Yuan had happened to have had the foresight to buy hats to cover his and Mithos' ears. Quickly formulating a plan, he grabbed Martel's arm and pulled her forwards, pushing against the wave of people. He reached the inn, opened the door slightly and pushed her inside, warning her to stay there and not to leave or cause any commotion.

Then, the warrior rushed towards the incoming group of soldiers, doing his best to keep himself slightly concealed from their view by rushing down an alley and following a parallel road. Kratos timed himself and then rushed down another alley, arriving back into the street that the soldiers were in. He dashed across from one side to the other, passing directly in front of Yuan and Mithos, whispering a quick command to both to split up soon. As soon as he reached the other side of the street he rushed into another alleyway and found a street running parallel to the one where the chase was happening. He rushed down this pathway, scanning the buildings he passed. He saw what he had been looking for and rushed inside, breaking his way in by smashing the glass display of the clothing shop he had noticed. He grabbed a purple suit that looked to be about his size and dropped a significant amount of gald on the floor; he was paying for both, his purchase and the damaged display glass. He quickly moved into a changing room and got into his new outfit, then rushed back out. Heading out onto the street, he rushed a little farther down and then used another alley to switch back onto the main street leading to the wharf, coming out behind the legion of soldiers.

With great concentration, Kratos began to silently chant, a softly glowing red symbol appearing around his feet. He put his entire mind into pushing his magical bounds and expanding the spell to encompass a larger range than he'd ever attempted. Suddenly, a scream went up among the soldiers as they began to split into two groups, obviously caused by Mithos and Yuan heading down different streets. Kratos took this as his cue and released an enormous "Eruption" spell just behind the officials, then dropped to the floor and took on an extremely winded look.

A pool of lava appeared on the floor and sparks of flame leapt up from it. A dome of fire rose out of the flaming floor and burned everything within its incinerating center. The spell had its desired effect as the entire squadron stopped in its tracks and turned around. They saw Kratos and rushed at him, holding their swords ready to strike him down. As they arrived where he lay, the human rose slowly with his hand pointing down a dark alley behind him.

"That… that way," he stuttered out. "He ran that way!"

The guards stopped in front of him, looked stunned and skeptical. However, their faces changed to belief when one of their commanders appeared from behind them and nodded at them.

"No traces of Aonis," he announced, "and as you can clearly see, his ears are perfectly human." Then, turning to Kratos, he asked, "Can you give me a description of who ran in that direction?"

"Half-elf, I think," Kratos spoke out, hesitating slightly, "because his ears were slightly pointed and I think he cast a spell just now. Short boy, with straw-yellow hair flying everywhere – He was followed by a man with long, blue hair and another man with brown hair."

"Thank you, citizen," the commander spoke, not paying much attention to Kratos as he directed his troops to spread out and search in the general direction Kratos had mentioned. "You should go back to your home; this place has dangerous criminals loose."

"Y-yes, sir," Kratos attentively replied, appearing slightly frightened. He stood up shakily and ran past the commander, heading down the street towards the main city and then down an alley, entering the inn from an entrance in the back. He soon arrived at the main lobby where there was a large group of people standing around and gathering close to the windows, whispering among themselves about the occurrence they had witnessed. He scanned the room, and not seeing Martel, proceed down a hallway, coming to stop in front of the set of rooms he had rented. He knocked on the door and called out Martel's name.

The door opened a slight bit and Martel peeked out. Seeing his face, she opened the door a little more and stepped back, allowing him to enter, after which he closed the door behind him. She stared at him for a while, suppressing a question worrying her. When he turned away and showed that he wasn't going to answer it without her asking, she decided to do just that and queried him about the safety of her brother and Yuan. Kratos simply informed her that they were safe and would be arriving in a short amount of time.

Her worry having been satisfied, Martel's curiosity returned to her and she inquired about Kratos' change of attire, to which he simply stated that it had been a necessity. He turned and stared out a window into the vacated street. This new development would cause trouble. He knew that the Palmacosta government wouldn't find Yuan and Mithos after the trick he had used on them, but they wouldn't stop searching for half-elves. Security would be much tighter now. It would be near impossible to leave the city and even harder still to gain access to the underwater route to Thoda.

Kratos formulated plans in his mind and then discarded them based on the flaws they contained. He narrowed down possibilities as he worked through. The only path to the research facility was through the underwater passage since trying to sail there would only lead to them being caught by the guard towers on the island. Using rheaird flight was also impossible since only those connected to official business were allowed to use them. Besides, breaking in to the rheaird hanger wouldn't help either, since they would easily be tracked and chased after. The only choice left was to take the underwater tunnels, but that didn't seem too easy either. Even though Kratos had destroyed the computer terminal he had used, the government was probably alert to the fact that his searches had led to Thoda and that he would be attempting to go there, so security would be greatly tightened.

A harsh knock sounded on the door, yanking him out of his thoughts, followed by Yuan's voice softly calling to open up. Martel jumped up off the bed she was sitting on and rushed to the door, opening it and stepping back as two half-elves quietly stepped in. Mithos came in behind Yuan and closed the door. Both came forward and sat down on two different beds in the room. Martel moved and sat down next to her brother while Kratos left the window he had been standing at and came to sit down in a chair facing all three.

"Yuan, Mithos, what happened?" Kratos asked the two newcomers, a stern look on his face. "You know we're planning on stealing a summon spirit from the government; we don't need any more attention focused on us."

"Information collecting went…" Yuan paused, searching for the right word.

"…awry," Mithos finished for him.

Yuan shot Mithos an angry look, but then nodded and turned to Kratos, "Yes… awry."

"How so?" Kratos asked.

"We were going around with Mithos pretending to be interested in scientific research, particularly concerning water and the summon spirits," Yuan narrated. "I was acting as if I was his uncle and had brought him to the Palmacosta pier as a vacation. We were mainly ignored. However, we got lucky and ran into a researcher who had just returned from working wherever it is that Undine is kept.

"He wouldn't tell us the location, mentioning that it was a secret, but he encouraged Mithos to pursue his faked dreams telling him that it was amazing working with the extreme amount of energy that summon spirits exuded. I noticed that he was carrying a map in his pocket that peaked out. Mithos also noted it and decided that it would be a good thing to relieve the man of.

"However, things didn't go quite as well as we hoped and when Mithos pulled the map out, it hit the man's elbow, causing him to look down and note us. He screamed out that we were Tetheallan thieves causing everyone to stare at us and soldiers to come running. Mithos just froze there while I reached out and yanked him away as I took off towards the main city. That started up the chase and led up to the point where you arrived."

"And the map?" Kratos questioned.

Mithos grinned. "You didn't think I'd lose that too, did you?"

"You would have," Yuan retorted, "if I hadn't snatched it away from you before you lost your grip and dropped it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of paper rolled up into a pipe, handing it over to Kratos. "We haven't had a chance to look over it yet, but I'm pretty sure it's a map of the facility, and once we find out where the actual building is, it'll be useful in helping us make our way around."

"It's at Thoda," Martel broke in excitedly while Kratos stared at the papers he had separated and unrolled. "We found out while we were searching."

"It seems you handled this better then we did," Yuan commented, smiling at Martel.

"Obviously," Kratos cut in with scorn, "seeing that we shook off the people chasing us without allowing them a look at our faces and that this isn't a map of the facility as you had wrongly assumed."

"It's not?" Yuan looked surprised, while Mithos looked utterly lost.

"You mean I got into all that trouble for nothing?" the young half-elf asked incredulously.

"No, not quite," Kratos responded slowly, a rare smile forming on his face. "You got something even better."

"Explain, Kratos," Yuan asked, annoyed at not knowing what was going on.

The human held the maps up for them to see. "You may not have gotten the maps to the facility, but you managed to get your hands on the maps for the entire system of Sylvarant's underwater and underground causeway systems. It might not help us when actually infiltrating the Thoda research facility, but it solves our problem of how to get there, considering that there's a sewage tunnel leading to the main causeway right under this room!"

* * *

Wow! I actually managed to get a chapter done this fast. I'm rather surprised myself. I know it's a little short, but at least I managed to get it done this quick. 

I'm not too sure if the first section of this chapter, from when Kratos leaves Martel at the inn to where he speaks with the commander, are really that clear. I tried to balance between the quick pace of the event and clarity, but I don't know if I really managed to portray it well. If you think I didn't do a very good job, just let me know and I'll try to fix it up and repost the chapter.

Anyway, chapter titles, once again, are requested. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and be sure to review!

Until next chapter.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the charactes contained therein

* * *

"Bossy Kratos…" Yuan grumbled as he lifted the shovel he held and slammed it down into the dirt once more. "Why does he get to skip off and head out to town while we slave away here?"

"So that he can get us supplies for our journey without getting caught," Mithos retorted, putting more emphasis on the second part. He lifted his own shovel and slammed it down when Yuan swung his own over his shoulder, dropping the dirt onto the floor of the hotel room.

"So what?" Yuan replied, ignoring the reference to his recent escape. "Do you like being left back to dig?"

"Of course not," Mithos conceded, then decided to quip back at the blue-haired half-elf, "but someone has to stay back to watch over you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Yuan asked indignantly as he struck again with his shovel a little harder than previously.

"Oh, I'm not saying you'd steal our things and run off on us or something. All I'm saying is that I have to make sure you don't end up attracting too much unwanted attention."

"I see," Yuan replied sarcastically. "And I wonder who it was that got caught trying to steal a map?"

However, contrary to his normal behavior in Kratos' absence, Mithos remained silent. Yuan looked up in surprise after tossing away the latest shovel of dirt and found the boy looking up in an unusually pensive manner. Following his gaze, Yuan's sight came to rest on Martel and he couldn't help but let it linger on her face a for a short while before he tore his gaze away and brought it back to the hole he was supposed to be deepening. Mithos, however, kept watching his sister as she sorted through the extra supplies Kratos had brought earlier that day and prepared a meal for the two diggers.

While lifting his next shovel of dirt from the hole, Yuan deliberately brought the shovel into Mithos' line of sight, silently reminding the boy of the task at hand without questioning him about his thoughts.

Realizing Yuan's message but not its deliberateness, Mithos went back to aiding his blue-haired companion though his mind still mulled over the same thoughts. He kept seeing the times when he traveled with only Kratos and Martel. His sister would always be smiling and her smile would widen whenever either Kratos or Mithos would return from scouting, searching for food, or any other activity. However, she would always smile a little more warmly and for her brother. Mithos knew that Martel was very grateful to Kratos for all that he had done, but the smile she gave him wasn't as warm as the smile that Mithos received. And yet, Mithos felt troubled. He'd noticed it when they returned to the inn on the previous day. Martel hadn't smiled at him first when he'd entered; she had a worried look on her face until Yuan entered, and it was he who she smiled at first.

* * *

Kratos roamed the streets of Palmacosta listening to the gossip floating around. He'd finished purchasing the last of the supplies he believed they'd need and was now seeking some information that he personally wished to know. He could've easily retrieved it from any of the terminals located around town, but doing that would most likely bring the city guards down on him. His use of one on the past day had probably already sent them searching for him.

As he walked past a shop selling small trinkets, the shopkeeper caught his attention. The man didn't look anything out of the ordinary, but he was wearing a ring made with a special ore that was only found within the Sylvarant territory in Iselia. He approached the man and looked around at his wares as if he was a customer. Then, Kratos turned to faced the man and acted surprised.

"That's an interesting ring," he commented.

The man looked down at his hand and saw what Kratos was talking about. "Ah, this Iselian ring? Yes… quite a lucky buy it was. I do believe I was one of the last people to have gotten my hands on this prize, what with Iselia now being under Tetheallan rule and all." The man sighed, then continued on, "do you really thing Sylvarant will be able to take it back?" Not waiting for an answer, the man continued on, "Not a chance. Sylvarant just cannot handle that 'Fenrir.' Were he not the one guarding the city, I'm sure we'd manage to get back the city using the new Ex-Squad."

"Fenrir?" Kratos asked, confused.

"Oh? Mystar Wilder, Archmage of Tethealla's forces and wielder of the mighty Vorpal blade. I thought everyone would know him…"

"The nickname was unfamiliar to me," Kratos simply replied. "And what is this Ex-Squad?"

"Ah, yes, the Ex-Squad. Only just heard about myself, actually. It seems that Sylvarant has begun to mass produce the exspheres and their corresponding key crests. With our enhanced troops, we're stronger than ever. If only we'd still had General Odin with us, we'd defeat Tethealla for sure. But as things stand, the Vorpal Blade still manages to push us back."

"Thank you," Kratos broke in, unwilling to let the man continue indefinitely. He handed him a few gald, showing him a little orb that colorfully glowed with magitechnology that he'd picked up and then walked off.

"Take care!" The man called out from behind him, as Kratos decided to head back to the inn. He'd found out what he'd wanted to: Mystar Wilder was in Iselia. Once Kratos had managed to finish this quest to Thoda for Yuan, he'd head after Wilder and avenge his mother. However, what he'd just heard was disturbing him. Mystar Wilder was holding back a squad of exsphere-enhanced soldier. Kratos recalled his own sparring match against Yuan and thought about the great powers that the Cruxis Crystal had bestowed upon the half-elf. He knew that exspheres were weaker, but even a single person with an exsphere would be able to slaughter an army of people without any. And if the Archmage of Tethealla could deal with a squadron of exsphere-users, then he must be very strong; too strong for Kratos.

Kratos looked up and noticed that he'd arrived back at the hotel. He entered into the lobby and walked past, heading down the hallway and arrived at the room he'd rented. He listened intently and was pleased to notice that the sound of shovels could only barely be heard. He knocked on the door, waited until the sounds ceased, then entered as Martel opened the door and let him in.

Stepping in, the human dropped the final bag of supplies that he'd gathered next to one of the beds and then stepped over to a hole in the floor. He looked down to find Mithos and Yuan looking up at him, a grin on both their faces.

"We're at the tunnel, Kratos," Yuan announced. "All we need to do is break away into the metal pipe and we're in."

"We're done digging!" Mithos exclaimed. He reached out to grab hold of the sides of the hole and pulled himself up as Yuan followed, both covered in dirt.

Martel came up to all three and brought them some food. "So how are we going to break into the metal pipe?" She asked.

"Mithos and I will handle it," Kratos replied.

"Same thing that you did to the floor?" Yuan asked, receiving a nod from Kratos. "I'll pitch in, then. The boy's too tired from digging; you should give him a rest," he added, resulting in Martel smiling gratefully at him for saving her brother from the extra work.

"No, I'll handle it," Mithos interrupted him, having noticed Martel's smile. "We don't need your help, Yuan."

"If that is how you will take this task, then I shall have Yuan help me," Kratos responded to Mithos. "I picked you in order to improve your endurance, not because I did not need Yuan's help."

"I'm sorry," Mithos begrudgingly muttered to Yuan upon receiving a meaningful look from his sister. Then he got up and took his place above the hole, waiting for Kratos to stand opposite him. However, the human remained sitting where he was.

"Yuan is right," Kratos answered Mithos' questioning look, "you are tired, just as he is, and just as I am. I suggest we clean up, eat some food, and then handle the pipe.

* * *

Yuan spent his mana holding up an electrical field to mask sounds around Kratos and Mithos as the two broke the pipe. Mithos peppered it with "Fireball" spells, weakening the metal while Kratos struck the heated portions with "Stone Blast" leaving punctures in the pipe. Eventually, when enough of the metal was cut away both Kratos and Mithos struck the top of the pipe with a "Wind blade" spell, knocking a hole into the top of the pipeline as the piece they'd cut out fell into the pipe with a splash.

Seeing them finish, Yuan dismissed the electrical field and picked up his pack from the floor. Kratos too picked his pack up while Martel, already holding her pack, handed Mithos his. All of them approached the hole and lowered themselves into the sewage pipe, gingerly entering the dirty and smelly path. Silently, they began walking along the pipe, each of them concentrating on keeping as much of the air outside their lungs as they could. Unable to talk without taking in more of the stench-filled air then absolutely necessary, all four of them retreated into their own thoughts.

Mithos thought about his sister. Martel had always been there for him, and he knew that she would never leave him. She loved him and had cared for him in the place of their departed mother. No matter what happened, she had never abandoned him, and he knew that she never would. He had her attention all the time and wanted to keep it that way. At first, he'd disliked it whenever she did anything for Kratos, but he didn't really mind, since he knew that she was acting out of gratefulness, and not only for her own life, but for his as well. However, he didn't understand why she should have anything to do with Yuan. The half-elf had told them himself that he had once been a heartless murderer. He'd been the cause of many of their troubles. It had been him that lured the Kraken to them, and it had been for him that they were traveling through this forsaken pipeline. Not understanding why his sister was acting the way she was, Mithos sighed, only to regret it direly as he nearly fainted from the reeking air that assaulted his senses.

Yuan nearly laughed seeing Mithos' near loss of consciousness but managed to stop himself before he made the same mistake. The little kid amused him, at least when he wasn't irritating him. His sister, though, left Yuan stunned and unable to even gather his thoughts together. Reminding himself of where he was and of the consequences that Mithos' sigh had brought him, Yuan decided not to think about Martel in order to keep his mind about him. Instead, his thoughts turned to Kratos.

The human amazed Yuan. He'd lost his dad at an early age and then watched his mother killed before his own eyes, unable to stop it. Yuan had never known how it felt to have parents, but he had seen how hard Kratos had worked to help his mother when he'd found out that she was ill, and even after his ceaseless effort, he'd had to suffer losing her. And yet, Kratos did not let it show on himself at all. He never mentioned his parents or what happened to them and just pushed on stoically. But Yuan had seen other such people before, though rarely humans. Elves and half-elves were more often patient and forbearing. However, what truly set Kratos apart was the company that he traveled with and the way he dealt with the different races. He was a human, and yet, here he was, a companion to three half-elves. Whenever he dealt with humans, he would be no different than he was when dealing with Elves. Even more stunning, though, was that he was the same when dealing with half-elves, and this, more than anything surprised Yuan. Kratos was different from everyone else; he was special.

Kratos, meanwhile, had his thoughts on a certain artifact softly pulsing with a lonely energy from within the pack he carried. His father had died with a Cruxis Crystal; a Cruxis Crystal that Kratos now held. If what Seraphim Yggdrasill had told him was true, which he did not doubt it was, then that Crystal would have absorbed his father's mana and it would still be present within the enhancer. If he were to put the Crystal on, perhaps he would be able to feel his father within himself, like meeting him and embracing him after so many years. Kratos pulled his mind away from such thoughts and reminded himself of what Yuan had told him.

The Cruxis Crystal brought with it a complete lack of sleep and hunger, but it also brought a tiredness that could not be shaken off. And yet, the powers that the Crystal held were undeniable. His own match against Yuan had more than proved that the Cruxis Crystal more than accomplished the purpose that it was made for. A person wearing one could tear through armies of not only humans, but even Elves, and not have trouble escaping unscathed. With such power, Kratos could definitely match and defeat Mystar Wilder. All he had to do was use the Cruxis Crystal.

Suddenly, the human yanked his mind away, horrified at the thoughts that had been going through his head. He'd decided from the things that Seraphim and Yuan had told him that he would not use the Cruxis Crystals, and yet his mind had not only considered doing that, but had almost decided to follow through right then and there. Kratos mused over this new development. It seemed that the Cruxis Crystals not only affected those wearing them, but they even managed to call out to those carrying them.

Suddenly, a slight twinge passed through Kratos. He felt as thought a significant part of him had felt a sudden, strong pain, but the rest of him had been perfectly fine. Looking around, he noticed that Mithos had fallen to his knees, teeth grinding together. Beyond him, Yuan and bent over, using the wall to hold himself off the ground as slight electric sparks flew from his body. Then, Kratos looked to his side to find Martel laying on the ground, unconscious with a look of utter horror on her face.

* * *

Sorry for the long delay. Now that summer is here, I should be able to update much faster now. I've even added tentative dates to my profile page for upcoming chapters, so you should have a pretty good idea of how long you have to wait for the next chapter (which shouldn't be too long for the next few chapters until university starts again).

Anyway, this chapter had a lot more thought and conversation and no action at all, so it was a bit of a departure from my usual writing. I'm pretty happy with all the information I managed to get across here, but I'm not sure about the characterization and clarity, so I'd like to know how well I did on that.

And, as always, names for any chapters that don't have them already are welcome and appreciated. Be sure to review! (not many people seem to do that...)


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters contained therein

* * *

It was a plea for help, a plea desperately crying out for love and affection. It cried out in pain, calling for someone, anyone.

* * *

Martel's eyes flew open to find Yuan looking down at her worriedly from beside her. To her other side, Mithos sat, just as worried as the other half-elf. Kratos stood near her as well, his eyes closed in concentration as he cast a healing spell on her. Looking around at her companions and at her surroundings, she tried to reorient herself.

Below her was Yuan's leather cape on top of the shining, white metal floor. To her sides rose glass walls looking out onto the ocean floor. Both walls curved towards each other and met at the top, where the light of the sun streamed in from, filtered and tinted a clean blue by the water. Martel could not remember ever being in such a place and found herself confused. She rose slightly only to have her brother gently push her back down. Looking at his face, she reached back into her memory and tried to recall all that she could.

Palmacosta. They'd been staying in Palmacosta when they decided to head to the Thoda Research Facility by ways of the passageways across the ocean floor. In order to get to one, they had been traveling through the sewers when it had happened. Martel shuddered as her thoughts returned to the cry that had torn through her. She realized that she must've fainted, and it seemed that her companions had carried her out of the sewers and into the causeways.

Smiling at Mithos to reassure him that she was alright, Martel sat up again. Kratos had completed his "First Aid" spell and was watching her as the spell took effect, causing her to feel much more refreshed.

"We must help!" Martel stated to her companions, sure that they would understand what she meant, but she was met by empty stares. "That plea for help… we must answer it!" She tried again, looking around at them, but the result was the same.

"Martel, what are you talking about?" Mithos asked.

"We were walking through the sewers and then that cry… don't you remember?" She stared at her brother wondering how he couldn't know.

"All that happened was that all of us felt pain, Kratos less than the three of us, and then you collapsed…"

"Oh…" Martel looked down, stunned. So it had only been her that had heard. "That pain… I heard a cry for help and that pain was coming from whatever it was that was calling for help."

"No time for an explanation right now," Kratos broke in, coming closer and reaching his hand out to Martel. "Can you run?"

"Y-Yes," she muttered, wondering why he was asking.

"Then let's go," Kratos simply stated as he grabbed Martel's hand and helped her up, "before those causeway patrol guards back there come close enough to spot us."

Suddenly alert, Mithos and Yuan stood up too, the blue-haired warrior grabbing his leather cape and slinging it around his shoulders. Quickly, they picked up the packs they had placed on the floor and silently moved off after Kratos and Martel. They continued on down the underwater tunnel, with Mithos turning his head from side to side to stare out through the glass at the fishes swimming outside until the tunnel veered back towards land and went underground. The sunlight no longer lit up the passageway, but magitechnology bulbs had been placed every few meters providing ample light.

A slight distance ahead, the tunnel took a sharp turn. As the four travelers approached the turn they were too absorbed in keeping a watch out for the guards coming up behind them to notice the noise from ahead of them. Kratos was the first to arrive at the bend. He turned and found himself rushing right into the drawn swords of six guards, one of whom had an exsphere proudly showing on the back of his right hand. Eternally prepared for any such moment by his time spent in the dangerous lands outside of towns, Kratos reacted without hesitation, drawing his Crystal Sword and blocking Martel from rushing into the guards. However, his reaction speed was outmatched by the exsphere-wielding guard as a sword swept out and left a light cut across his arm.

Yuan and Mithos arrived just behind, alerted to the danger by Kratos' actions. Mithos immediately set to casting a spell while Yuan drew his double-blade and rushed right at the obvious leader of the guards. While Yuan and the empowered guard dueled, the other five guards passed beside them and attacked. Kratos stepped forward and quickly stabbed into one with his sword. Drawing it back out, he spun around and struck at another, only to find his sword blocked by a shield and another blade rushing for his arm. He jumped back, evading the blow, and countered it by quickly slicing across the guard's throat as his arm swung wide.

Martel raised her Ruby Wand and intercepted a sword swing from one guard. She tried to throw the strike off and ready her weapon for the other two guards approaching her but found her current opponent overpowering her. As her Ruby Wand was pushed closer to her head, she quickly hopped back, bringing the weapons apart as the guard stumbled forward due to the sudden loss of balance. It was this exact moment that Mithos chose to launch his "Stalagmite" spell, catching all three guards after his sister in the attack. Martel took the temporary respite to begin casting a spell of her own as Mithos rushed forward and drew out his Ether Sword.

Yuan swung his double-blade in dizzying circles with speed too fast to keep up with as he approached his foe. The leader of the guards was empowered by an exsphere and was too proud of his newfound powers to consider anyone a danger. Ignorant to the fate that awaited him, he stepped into the half-elf's range swinging his sword in pride. In a flash, Yuan had spun his weapon around thrice, cutting first through the man's sword, then through his shield, and finally through his body, before reversing his double-sided weapon and turning back to the ongoing battle.

Having witnessed what happened to their comrades, the three guards left facing Kratos, Yuan, and Mithos found themselves recognizing their situation. One of them immediately grabbed a device from his belt and yelled into it, calling for help while another dropped dead beside him, struck down by a ray of light. The third turned to see the "Ray" spell cast by Martel just in time to be felled by it as well. Yuan and Mithos stepped forward to deal with the final guard left standing, but stopped as a slight shuddering sound echoed through the tunnel. Both of them stared at each other, then looked upwards to see that Mithos' spell had damaged the roof and the weight was forming cracks in the rocks above. Seizing his chance, the guard threw himself at the young boy, tacking him. Martel jumped forward to save her brother, only to find the guard push off of Mithos with his sword in hand, rushing in at the healer. However, he stopped just before he reached her and stared on with blank eyes as Yuan's double-saber found a resting place in his back.

With a sudden rumble, the roof crumbled and rocks rained down from above. Mithos scrambled aside, barely missing a huge boulder. Dust rose and blinded everyone as crashing noises blocked all sound. During the confusion, the soldiers approaching from behind arrived at the group and struck in, catching Kratos with a slice across his chest. The human noticed the attack just at the last moment and stepped back, only able to lighten the cut and not avoid it. He replied by swinging his own sword wildly and heard a hard crack as it's hilt struck his opponent on the head, knocking him out. Knowing that a single guarding wouldn't be alone, he turned and barely managed to spot the attacker's partner. With a clean slice, he ended the man's life before he could drive his sword through an unknowing Mithos. Kratos quickly chanted a "Wind Blade" spell and blew away the slowly settling dust, revealing a third guard who he immediately felled.

Having taken care of the guards, Kratos turned to find Mithos on the floor, his leg pinned under a rock. Behind him, the entire passage had collapsed, blocking any access to the other side. Yuan and Martel were nowhere to be seen.

"Kratos!" Yuan's voice called out from beyond the rubble. "What's going on over there?"

"A few guards," Kratos replied. "Taken care of."

"So what're we going to do about this pile of rocks? I'll get rid of them with a 'Spark Wave,' ok?"

"Stop," Kratos commanded. "If you try to blow the pile away, all that'll do is cause a bigger portion of the ceiling to cave-in."

"Is Mithos okay?" Martel's worried voice came over.

"He's got a broken leg, but he's okay," Kratos replied, having already moved the rock off of the unconscious boy's leg. "He should be fine after a 'First Aid.'"

"So what do we do now?" Yuan asked as Martel sighed with relief.

Searching along the top of the rock pile, Kratos found a small opening and gingerly climbed up to it. Peering through it, he found Yuan standing against the rocks while Martel stood against the wall, cleaning the dust from her dress.

"Yuan," Kratos called. "Can you see a small hole up here?"

"Yeah," Yuan replied as he finally spotted the hole that Kratos was referring to. "I can barely stick my hand through this hole. How is this going to help us?"

Kratos took out the maps of the tunnels and passed them through the hole.

"Use these to get to Thoda. Get the ring that they use to contain Undine there and bring it to Ozette. You should be able to use the maps to find your way there through these tunnels. Once Mithos recovers a little, we'll cause a disturbance here so that the guards come after us, giving you two time to head off undetected. We'll get back to Palmacosta from here and leave for Ozette. I'll meet up with you there at the westernmost inn on the outskirts of the city."

"Alright then, we'll meet up there. What do you think, Martel?"

"Sure," Martel replied. "Kratos, please watch over Mithos…"

"Of course."

Yuan and Martel set off down the tunnel, walking silently, intent on not getting caught. Martel's thoughts were focused on Mithos, worried about his wellbeing. Yuan, on the other hand, was having a hard time keeping his eyes, much less his thoughts, off of Martel. On the other side of the boulders, Kratos sat next to an unconscious Mithos, silently chanting a "First Aid" spell.

* * *

Another chapter completed. I've set another date for the next chapter as well (7th of July). Anyway, for all those in the US, Happy Independence Day on the 4th!!.

Don't forget to review! And chapter name suggestions are welcome as always. Until the next chapter!!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

* * *

Six balls of fire flew into a host of guards, knocking them back and sending up a blast of smoke. Kratos and Mithos turned and ran back before the stunned guards could regain their composure. After running for a while, they stopped to rest.

"Do you think that's enough time for Martel?" Mithos asked Kratos.

"She should have managed to get to the facility by now. I believe it is time we left these tunnels."

Kratos stood up and started walking off with Mithos following behind them. When they arrived at a fork, Kratos stopped and looked down both tunnels. One of them left the underground and went into the water while the other continued through the land. Kratos choose the land path.

"Your choice of spells has improved, Mithos. Your casting time is also much faster now. However, you still focus too much on the power of your attacks and not enough on your technique. Remember, while that focus may help you defeat many foes, those that truly know how to fight will be able to turn your strength against you. Learn to use your opponent's weakness instead of your own strength and your ability will greatly increase."

"…" Mithos silently listened to Kratos' instructions. While he disliked anyone criticizing him, he recognized that obeying Kratos would help him become stronger. As the human had noticed, he had obeyed him about using weaker spells when there wasn't enough time for stronger ones and the result had been very nice. So, Mithos decided he would bear with Kratos' instructions and follow along.

* * *

After hours of walking, Kratos and Mithos finally arrived at the location they were seeking. A ladder was attached to the side of the tunnel and led up to the surface. Kratos headed over to it and climbed up with Mithos following behind. When both of them arrived at the top, they found themselves in a small room with dim lighting and a single door. After opening the door, they exited the room and found themselves in a small hall containing windows that looked out onto a mountain peak. A set of double-doors led out of the room. However, standing before them was a single guard. As the human and half-elf entered, he turned to face them and drew a lance.

Sighting a slight glint of light from the guard's right hand, Kratos immediately assumed a defensive position and drew his Crystal Sword.

"Watch out, Mithos," Kratos warned, "he's one of the new exsphere guards."

The guard glanced over the two intruders lazily before turning around and locking the double doors with a key he stored under his armor afterwards. Then he turned and faced his opponents again.

"So you two are the ones who've been causing all the ruckus down in the causeways, are you?" He drawled out. "Well, it's time you two died."

In a sudden burst of speed, the guard appeared directly before Kratos, slamming down with his lance. However, the human had anticipated his move and dashed past him, slashing him across his left arm. As the guard whirled around and smashed Kratos in the back of the head with his lance, Mithos jumped at him with his Ether Sword. Before the half-elf could strike, the guard reversed his lance and held it above his head horizontally, blocking the incoming sword despite his injury. With his enhanced hearing, the guard detected Kratos approaching from behind him. He swung his weapon and sent Mithos flying into his comrade.

"It seems you're much weaker than I heard," the guard spoke in the same lazy drawl. "I'd been told you'd taken down one of the exsphere squadron along with a full patrol, but it doesn't seem like you're capable of that, does it?"

Kratos and Mithos stood up and stood beside each other with their weapons ready. They glanced at each other and Kratos nodded at Mithos. With a dash, Kratos launched himself at the guard while Mithos began chanting a spell.

Seeing the spell's symbol appear on the floor, the guard decided to quickly brush off Kratos' attack and then halt Mithos' casting but he was surprised when the blow he was expecting never came. Kratos stood before him, but he hadn't struck at him. Deciding that the event was of no consequence, the guard came forward and jabbed at Kratos with his lance only to have the human quickly knock it aside. Enraged, the guard yanked his weapon back to himself, raised it above his head and began spinning it.

Kratos tensed himself, preparing for the impending blow. He knew from having fought Yuan that the guard's speed and strength were far greater than his own, so he would have to be extremely careful with how he handled his movements. If he could move perfectly, Kratos was sure he could defeat the guard; however, even a single flaw would lead almost certainly to death.

The human noticed a slight change in the guard's grip on the spear and immediately leapt into the air, only a moment before the guard jabbed the lance at the place his feet had been. In mid-jump, Kratos shifted his weight, twisting his body until it was horizontal as the guard failed to hit him with one strike aimed for the legs and one for the head. Always keeping his eyes on his foe and anticipating his moves by reading the slight changes in his stance, Kratos rolled back immediately upon landing, barely dodging a blow that lodged the lance securely into the ground. With a single tug, the guard yanked his weapon back to himself and immediately stabbed as the human before him rose up.

Seeing Mithos' spell reach completion, Kratos decided to make his move. As the lance came at him, he raised his left arm, equipped with a Rune Shield, and rushed forward. With a deafening clang, the lance glanced off of the shield as Kratos continued on and stabbed with his sword, striking the surprised guard in the center of his chest. However, due to the exsphere's aid, the guard remained alive. As he tried to back away and draw the Crystal Sword out of himself, he felt a sudden power emanate from the weapon as a bolt of thunder struck him from above. Stunned, he could only watch as a second strike of thunder fell at him, this time in the form of a giant sword. He cried out with fear as electricity repeatedly seared his body, and within seconds his life had left him.

Seeing that the battle had ended, Mithos rushed forward, a huge smile plastered on his face. He came up behind Kratos, who finally released the grip on his weapon and then sunk to his knees. Surprised by his mentor's behavior, Mithos stopped.

"Kratos?" the boy questioned hesitantly.

The human stood up and turned to face him. "It's okay, just a broken bone. I just need a 'First Aid' spell and it should be fine."

"When did that happen?" Mithos asked, confused. He couldn't remember Kratos taking any major hits in the battle.

"His strength was augmented by the exsphere to a greater height than I imagined. When his lance struck off my shield, though it did was thrown aside, the force behind the blow that hit me was too great for my arm."

Mithos stood, silently contemplating the meaning of those words while Kratos recovered his arm. If that guard could break Kratos' arm through his shield so easily, then the strength of the exspheres would have to be very great. If this was only one guard, Mithos feared meeting more than one at a time. He shuddered slightly as he imagined the situations he could end up in at any moment. After all, they were inside Sylvarant's greatest military transportation network. It wouldn't be very surprising to run into a few enhanced guards. If only Martel were here, Mithos thought. She would've been able to comfort him.

"Let's go," Kratos' voice broke through Mithos' thoughts. "This is one of the remote guard houses just south of Hakonesia Peak. They should have a few rheairds stored around here."

The human reached down and pulled the keys out of the dead guard's armor and walked over to the double doors, unlocking them and stepping through as the half-elf followed behind. Once outside, they noticed there were two other buildings beside the one they had just left. The sun was just beginning to set and lights had already come on in one of them. However, the other remained unlit.

"That building is the guard quarters," Kratos informed Mithos, indicating the lighted structure. Then, he changed his focus to the other building. "That is the rheaird storage. You watch outside while I enter and secure us two of the rheairds."

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Sorry about the huge delay in posting this chapter up. Certain events took place and I was unable to finish this chapter by the deadline, despite how short it turned out to be. I appologize for the lateness and hope it won't happen again.

Anyway, be sure to review!!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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Mithos pulled hard, tightening the knot he had made. As he finished and stepped back to look at his work, Kratos came up to him, having already finished his own. Both of them had taken a rheaird each and tied a guard to it. Kratos had tied the dead guard from the exsphere squadron whom they had fought earlier while Mithos had attached to his rheaird the dead body of the guard who had been watching over the storage. 

It had been Kratos' idea not to leave the dead bodies lying around because that would alert the army to their presence. On the other hand, burying them would cause too much noise so the human had decided to take them along and dispose of the bodies once they had achieved a reasonable distance.

Silently, Kratos walked around Mithos' rheaird, bending down occasionally and checking the knots he had made out of the rope. Having deemed it sturdy, Kratos turned around to finish the preparations.

"Start up the rheairds," Kratos told his pupil. "I'll go back to the shed where I found the ropes and get us some more supplies." He began walking off, then turned to add, "and do it quickly before a patrol comes out here to check."

As Mithos began fiddling with the controls that Kratos had briefly described to him earlier, Kratos entered the small side-shack and scanned all the items arranged neatly along the walls. He picked up four copies of the world's map, a Flame Dagger, and replaced his Rune Shield with one of the standard issue Obsidian Shields.

Coming back outside, he found Mithos sitting astride a rheaird with the other right beside him, both hovering gently, ready to takeoff at any moment. In a single, fluid movement, Kratos swung himself upon his ride and gently began to move forward. He turned towards the west, facing the purple horizon. The sun had set and the lights in the main building had been lit. It would not be long before the guards came outside for the next patrol. Signaling back to his apprentice, Kratos pulled his rheaird higher up into the air. As it rose, he angled it slight towards the north, turning away from the west. Satisfied that he was facing the correct direction, Kratos shot forward, riding through the skies on the rheaird. Mithos followed right behind him.

Kratos looked around him, enjoying the feel of the night wind, refreshingly cold to his face. He felt amazing, soaring through the skies. Turning slightly to the left, the human stared at the mountains that the sun had fallen behind only moments before. The sky there was still lighter than anywhere else, but even then it was a deep purple, now fading away to a dark blue. Turning his face up, Kratos stared out at the two full white circles staring back down at him. The twin moons of Aselia shone full and bright on this night. Silveranto and Tesseala, the two moons, had been named after the two kingdoms. They covered the world in a serene blanket of light.

A small whimper from behind broke Kratos' peace. He turned around to find Mithos clutching his rheaird tightly, his body pressed close to the hull. Slowing down, Kratos brought his own machine next to Mithos', then asked the boy what was wrong only to receive another whimper in response.

"Too high," Mithos whispered out a little while later, his eyes closed tight. Bringing his face up, he opened a crack in his eyelids and took a glimpse at the sea flowing beneath him, glimmering a deep blue in the moonlight. With a sharp gasp, he returned to keeping his eyes shut, fear showing clearly on his face. The height at which he was daunted him, and it was all he could do not to faint.

Meanwhile, Kratos watched from behind, amused. A half-elf who had fought off monsters and humans, who had wielded both sword and magic, and who had seen death all his life now sat cowering out of fear of height. Mithos shifted a little and a soft cry for his sister escaped his lips, reaching Kratos' ears. A slight chuckle escaped him even as his ever-serious face broke into a small, involuntary smile. He was still just a small boy. Silently, Kratos drew his rheaird closer and then brought it lower. Soon, he was flying directly under the half-elf. If Mithos were to lose his grip, Kratos could easily catch him.

Satisfied with the step of precaution he had taken, Kratos turned to his left to notice the last patch of purple turning a dark blue as the last rays of the sun left the sky. He looked around himself, content in the flying machine, silent like the world around him, calm like the water flowing beneath him, and completely oblivious to the thoughts rushing through the head of the boy above him.

Mithos had accidently let his eyes open again. He had been afraid to see the sea far below him, but that was not what he saw. With a sudden shock he realized that Kratos was flying directly below him. Was the human truly willing to risk his own life for a chance to save his? Mithos knew that their lives had been endangered many times since setting out from Heimdall, but each time the human had saved Mithos' life, he'd been saving his own just as much. They'd been living in the wild, where having a companion was very important. But now Kratos had a rheaird and he would soon be arriving at a city where he would not easily be recognized. He had no need of the half-elf anymore, and yet he still moved to protect him. He was even doing it silently, not even expecting for the act to be acknowledged. Perhaps Martel had been right when she'd told him that Kratos cared for him just as she did. Maybe she was right when she said that humans and elves were no different from half-elves. Or maybe Kratos was just an exception. After all, even though Martel had said it, how could that be true? There was no way for humans, elves, and half-elves to all be the same. Their blood was different, and no matter what they did, nothing could ever change or hide that. She must've meant something else when she said it.

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Kratos opened his eyes slightly then shut them tight. The light burned. Turning his face away, the human opened his eyes again, this time away from the sun. Trying to collect his memories together, he looked around himself. He seemed to be flying through the air, with the sea beneath him, though land was fast approaching. Then, he realized he was on a rheaird. Remembering his companion, Kratos immediately looked above himself, then sighed as he noticed Mithos still riding his rheaird. It seemed the boy had fallen asleep as well, though a little restlessly. His arms and head hung over one side of the machine while his feet dangled down the other, but miraculously he hadn't fallen off. 

Taking control of his own craft, Kratos brought his rheaird to fly right next to Mithos', close enough that he could reach over and touch the boy. Then, taking hold of the rope that held the dead guard to the machine, he released the bonds, allowing the corpse to fall into the sea. Next, he did the same with his own rheaird, but this time, he held on to the rope and did not allow it to fall with the body. Moving the flying machine just a little bit closer, Kratos managed to hook one end of the rope to the side of the rheaird closest to him. Then, he let his craft fall lower and maneuvered it to the other side, looping the rope around it as he went. Finally, he traveled over the other rheaird, completing a full circle. Now, the rope was encircling Mithos' rheaird, binding the boy to it. While he would be unable to sit up if he woke up, it would also assure that he would not fall off if he shifted around.

Kratos tied off the rope, leaving some of it dangling loose. He grabbed this, and using it as a leash he began to lower the other rheaird along with his own. He stared ahead at the land and tried to judge the timing for his landing. It would have to be on the small patch of beach directly in front of him, because if he missed that, he would find himself crashing into the Gaoracchia Forest behind it.

Soon, he slowed down the rheairds till they were almost at a standstill. Kratos slowed his down further still so as to allow it to come beside Mithos'. The boy had woken up, taken one look at the sea beneath him and promptly fainted. Reaching over, Kratos could barely reach controls on the half-elf's machine. He bent over a little more and barely managed to touch the landing button. However, his weight had shifted too much and Kratos found himself slipping off of his own craft. His hand slipped and knocked another button on the control pad just as he lost all grip on his rheaird. Desperate, he flailed his hands around, grabbing onto the first thing that came within reach. The rope tying the two flying machines together had found its way into his hands. He held it tight as he noticed with dread what the other button that he had pushed had been; Mithos' rheaird began accelerating even as it lowered towards the ground. Eyes wide, the human released his grip on the rope just as the craft smashed itself into one of the thick trees of the Gaorrachia Forest. Suddenly, blackness engulfed Kratos along with a splintering pain in the back of his head as his own rheaird, tethered to Mithos' by the rope, knocked him out.

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Not much of a cliffhanger, I suppose, seeing as how we all know that both Kratos and Mithos have to come out alive. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review (many of you seem to forget, despite the reminders)


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